Maharishi
Dhananjay,
Your speaking appearances in national and international media have
been delayering the Indian judicial administration, judiciary, and the idea
of Justice itself. This is true Vaanprastha Dharma. *Thank you, for these “peeling of the onion’ kind of expositions: the
onion that is Indian Judicial administration. |
A Dot: Your insightful description of a court room being
an arena of ‘intense contestations’ of ideas, legal positions, cultures, and
philosophies is Maharishi like: The judges must be seen to be operating
within the bounds of the Law for the contestants, while determining a way
forward’ for the society at large. *I dare say, this must hold good for a very low proportion*
of cases: Of the 80,000 cases pending at SC, in 2025, a mere 50 are Constitutional
Bench (CB) cases with 500 related cases that will need intense debates. ------------------------------------------------- An Indian Whisper: Some of the CB cases are pending for decades. |
A Managers’ Musings: The “clash of ideas’,
alone and by itself, I dare say has been at the root of the dominant status
that Homo Sapiens could achieve on this earth: The Nature. *The Clash of Ideas have lit the path of progress of Humanity in all spheres
of “Living & Becoming.’ The useful and benign form of the Clash is
‘discussions and debates.’ *The Clash also generates friction and heat; that if crosses tolerance
levels galvanize the powerful to have people/ mango men/ “We the People”,
kill. |
And: The role of Governance Systems is to create a
‘balance’, craft a wide avenue with adequate guard rails for “we the people’
to live out a pleasant journey of life- safely. *Judicial System and Administration is but one part of the governance
system. |
A Dot: Wheeling back, there is also an ‘intense
contestations’ between the judges that is reflected in not-always unanimous
judgements by benches of higher courts. *Consider the razor thin margin of 7:6 in the “historic Keshwanand
Bharti case” of 1973, that is said to have secured for the citizens
“fundamental rights’, by propounding the so called “basic structure doctrine’
of the Constitution. |
A Few Dots: The differing views of the dissenting 6 judges do have
strong resonance within the larger society, that have simmered for much of
the life of this republic. *Our pugnacious VP Jagdeep Dhankhar, a legal luminary himself, averred
that “The Supreme
Court judgment in the Keshwanand Bharti case was a bad precedence. I don’t
subscribe to that.” (Times
of India – 11th Jan 2023) *He rued the “severe
compromise” of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the “mandate of the
people”: the Parliament, being the custodian of the “ordainment of the
people.” (Ind Express – Jan 12th 2023) |
And: Even an Ex CJI, Rajan Gogoi, now a Rajya Sabha
member attacked the “basic structure doctrine” as it is on “very debatable jurisprudential
basis.” (The Hindu – 7th Aug 2023) ------------------------------------------------------------- An Indian Whisper: Powerful voices have been making a din of noises to drown out the Waqf
Bill Protests. |
A Manager’ Musings: The “ordainments of the
people” also called “people’ will’ is expressed thru the “People
Representatives’ who in turn are corralled into “Political Parties’ (An extra
constitutional governance structure). *The party bosses then control and bend the PRs to the ‘will of the
few’ thru money, favors and whips. |
And a Rant: It’s unthinkable that the Constituent Assembly was
unaware of the pivotal role Political Parties will have in Democratic Governance.
*The CA did not work out a “Code of Conduct’ for political parties*,
or MPs and MLAs/MLCs: their accountability. (The King is above the law?) |
And another rant: The Political Classes succeeded in circumscribing
the “Fundamental Rights’ of Citizens by the 42nd (1976) and 86th
amendment (2002) to the constitution, by specifying “Fundamental Duties”: 7
Rights vs 11 Responsibilities. BUT: No one ever set up a committee or ask the Law
Commissions (of doubtful utility) to define the “Responsibilities of
Legislators, Politicians and Political Parties”. (The King IS definitely above the law!) |
Another Rant: *The CA espoused the “Separation of Powers’ and built-in
“checks and balances” between the 3 organs of the State, but ended up conflating
the Executive with the “Government”. *The Government which comprises three ‘Separate’ organs of the State, with
four Constitutional Bodies and the Head of State providing “Checks &
Balances.’ (Media, now seen as the Fourth Pillar of Democracy,
was in its infancy back in 1946-49.) |
A Critical Dot: And we are hurtling back to square one – the world
before 1790’s – before Bastilles (in most jurisdictions, the world over). |
A Manager’ Musings: The Denizens of 3 Organs
of the State and the Fourth pillar are mostly busy talking at and with each
other. *The State’s – Centre plus States – tax collections have ranged ~17%
of GDP over the last 30 years. *’We the People” are largely left to our own devises to work with the
rest of 83% of GDP: Consuming, Saving and Investing: And do the heavy lifting
of growing the economy. *The Governance System takes credit and goes home with clear conscious
to enjoy their part of the 17% less Government investments. (Cynical view?) |
A Manager’ Ruminations: The declaratory KB
judgement notwithstanding, the “Executive’ has over the years with 125
amendments, managed to emasculate the Head of State. *Used its Powers of “saam daam dand bhed’ to overpower legislatures,
Judiciary, and constitutional bodies, including the fourth pillar. |
*The current state of affairs as illustrated in my book.
But: The courts rooms are seen
as temples of justice -Nyaya Mandir, by citizens who are wronged and battered
beyond a threshold, and approach the ‘mai baap’ with folded hands to seek
succor. ------------------------ An Indian Whisper: “Higher level ‘ideas’ for contestation may be
crafted by the lawyers: over 20 lakh enterprising lawyers are always on the
look-out. |
On Judicial Administration: There
is very little value-add in repeating – 5 crore pending cases, 80%
under-trials languishing for years, tareekh par tareekh etc. *Only about 5% of the disputes and disputants approach the courts, to
get into prolonged and ‘Intense’ contest given their substantial social,
economic and political powers. (The Annual
“Access to Justice Surveys by Daksh) |
Citizens’ Wish: Citizens# expressed a reasonable wish to
Daksh that their disputes be resolved “Within a year and @ cost of ₹25,000”. (A Sovereign directive?) |
Factory Resets: It took me eight long years to craft the Structure,
Systems and Processes of Democratic Governance; and provide adequate
incentives for the ‘Elected & Selected’ functionaries who are assigned to
operate the wheels of “Governance’- as a manager would. * The resulting document was published as “Factory Resets of
Governance Rules” – Democracy FOR the People, in Sept 2023. *It is a business plan for all the Four Pillars and for grooming of
Democratic Citizens. *It ensures that the Judicial Administration can carry out the above mandate
from the citizens, with NO Cost to the exchequer: there being No Free Lunch. |
An Insight: During the same interview with Barkha Dutt, you
also shared an insight that “Oral submissions” are a core problem. *In my Resets All Litigants submit their complaint in writing at
their Panchayat and if no satisfactory award is arrived at, the same file
moves up the chain, to Taluka Courts, District Courts, High Courts and
Supreme Court as needed. *The file come back down to the originating Panchayat, once an
executable award /judgment is achieved at any court in the linear chain. *The Judicial Administration has been reset using the principles of “Lean
Management, and Queuing Theory. |
And: The cause remains a ‘single case’ to be considered
holistically by the Judges till a holistic executable judgement/ award is
arrived at. Some Trivia: * It might amuse you to review the Shilpa- Richard
Gere case of 2007: probably still on in parts after 2020 judgement by a
Magistrate in Mumbai. *The Telephone Exchange case against Dayanidhi Maran, the Telecom
Minister then, (-2004 -2007): Please note its furious movements and multiple
listings up and down the judicial ladder – trial courts to SC and back. |
Your Rumination: (CJI) Justice Dhananjaya Y.
Chandrachud said, "As my tenure comes to an end, my mind is heavily
preoccupied with fears and anxieties about the future and the past. I find
myself pondering: Did I achieve everything I set out to do? How will history judge
my tenure? Could I have done things differently? What legacy will I leave for
future generations of judges and legal professionals? (The Mint?) |
A Qutub View: Daksh surveys over many years estimate that about
75% of the dispute don’t, can’t or won’t go to formal courts. *Extrapolating this educated estimate would yield almost 20 Crore
cases/ disputes per annum do not seek “Justice’ from your governance
structure. *Crores of Indians just lump it, rendering the Courts ‘useless’ to
us. |
A Dot: ‘Administration’ being the operative part of
Judicial Administration, lets focus on the ‘remediable injustices’ committed
to the common man; “We the People”: that are 85% of the justiciable causes. *Maharishi Amartya Sen, while reflecting on Justice came down to
imploring every judicial organisation to deliver on ‘remediable injustices’
at the very least; efficiently and effectively. |
A Few
Suggestions:
One: Start the process of dismantling the appellate
powers of the Supreme Court, and ensure that it restricts itself to the
“Original Jurisdiction” *That will create grounds for empowering and restoring the respect for
the lower judiciary. *Modify the Art 133 and other relevant articles to devolve judicial
powers and a few administrative powers to Panchayats. -------------------------------------------- An Indian Whisper: The Factory Resets – the Business Plan for Governance have a proposed
a salary of ₹4.5 Cr per annum for SC Judges: comparable to the Central
Ministers. This is Cost to Government (CTG) -Taxable as per rules applicable
to all Indians. *This should then make it possible to attract the
best possible talent to the Courts and improve the robustness of judicial
administration: And also, to Politics and governance. |
Critically: Create a robust governance framework for “Executing”
the awards, judgements, and orders of Courts within the declared timeframe, to
ensure effective ‘closure’. |
A way Forward: May I suggest groups of young thinking lawyers, at
every court from Panchayats to SC, are guided and mentored by the Legal
Maharishi like yourself: To lobby with their local Panches, MLAs, MLCs MPs
and officials to nudge them to ensure, i) – Every Indian Child gets quality education and skills training up
to age 14 ii) Every Panchayat area has adequate health facilities, iii) Every unskilled worker gets “Lokhande Wages”!* and the
primary goods producers get “Kurien Price.’ --------------------------------------------------------------------------_ An Author’ Whisper !* These are detailed in the
Book – Factory Resets of Governance Rules’ |
On
Democratic Governance
A Manager’ Take: The Constitution with its patchwork of amendments is
just the Code of Conduct for the Institutions created under it. The CA
devised it with due diligence, love and care. *Their ‘imagination however was enveloped by the ecosystem of
1946-1949. *The world has since changed at revolutionary speed that bewilders the
evolutionary mind-set of humans. *In this interim, however the humanity has developed Management
Sciences and added very substantially to its ‘accumulated knowledge.’ |
A Big Thunk: I daresay that there can be no other purpose of
Governance but to provide a cover for the “last man standing’ to experience a
pleasant journey of life.’ (Mahatma Gandhi’ Antodaya) *The Humanimals sought the security of living in a community about 10,000
years ago, and subjected themselves to, and helped prepare a code of conduct
of that community. *This, then has to be the Basic Structure of
Governance. |
And: The “Basic Structure of Governance” has been
adequately even admirably distilled into the Preamble to our constitution.
*The Constitution, and all Governance Structures created there under:
The Head of State, the three Organs of the State; All institutions: their
Structure Systems and Processes be underpinned by this Basic Structure of
Governance. -------------- An Indian Whisper: I can proudly assert that none of 200 odd Constitutions in current
use the world over comes close. |
On Law Making: Every Lok Sabha since the 1950’ has made 300
additional Laws on average during its full term of five years. *The “Accumulated Legal Verbiage” has impressively overloaded the dauntingly
huge book shelves of legal offices. *It has besides, confounded the ‘state actors’ so much that the PM
formed a committee of Secretaries in 2015/16, who promptly recommended
deletion of about 50% of the Union Laws; overlapping State Laws not yet
counted. (Eventually 25% were deleted). |
A Dot: Ravi Shankar Prasad, our Minister of Law &
Justice (2016-2021) once opined that “Laws create hard lines for the society
which may be crossed at the risk of punitive action.” And: K V
Subramanian, our CEA (2018-2021) once stated that Laws and Regulation should
be made for 95% of citizens: An obvious reference to Normal Distribution or
Bell Curve. |
A Proposal: The “Factory Resets….” has reset the process of Law
Making: proposer to concerned ministry to a Permanent Parliamentary Committee
(PPC) overseeing that ministry: to Lok Sabha: debated under three “Speakers”
from three groups: The Treasury, the Opposition and Neutrals, who rotate on
monthly basis: That then ensures robustness of the Laws. ------------------------- (An Indian Whisper: There have been instances of Laws being changed to
allow the ships to enter, clear goods at favorable Duty Rates: which then are
reversed once the brouhaha starts) Mr Trump is acting in the similar vein …. |
A Concept Note: It should be possible for the proposers to explain
the context with data that necessitates the consideration of the proposed
measure: Its effect on the 2/3rd of the citizens -who just seek to
maintain- effects on people beyond two sigma limits (27%) who are anxious to
improve and the citizens general: the
powerful 5% -beyond three sigma who are always itching for ‘breakthroughs.’ *And if the measure is made into Law, the measurable outcomes within a
timeframe must be projected *The regularity and methodologies of measurements with course
corrections may be specified. *The PPC consisting of 21 members drawn from the three groups in
proportion to their Lok+ Rajya Sabha strength will review, modify, and
perfect before presenting it the Sabha. ---------------------------------- An Indian Whisper: Complicated? But look where the simplicity got us! And the ‘elected/ selected’ who are crème de la
cream of our society must be tested to the limits. We the People’ are paying
them in Crores, while 85 Crores of us line up for our monthly doles/ rations.
|
A Pivotal Reorg: If we are serious about ‘Good Governance”, then the
jurisdictional areas of Police, Courts, Administration and political
constituencies must be ‘same’: These are called P’Terroir, J’Terroir and
G’Terroir and Admin terroir, in my book. |
My Vanaprastha Dharma: A project to send out 3000
copies of “Factory Resets of Governance Rules- Democracy FOR the People, to
influencers in many fields of endeavour in India that is Bharat, is underway
since Nov 2024. |
Jai Ho,
Vinod K
Dhall
Vanprasthi
CXO
Author:
Factory Resets of Governance – Democracy FOR the People
YouTube
Channel : Living, Becoming & Democracy
Few Quotes *“The generality of law falters before the specifics of life” -Aristotle *“….if we interpret the Constitution from the angle of the Constitution makers we may arrive at a completely outdated and unrealistic view.” *“For the genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning
it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of
its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs. |
A Dot: The handwritten Constitutional Draft, provided by
the Drafting Committee, was signed on January 24, 1950, and became law on
January 26, 1950. *The Indian Constitution, which is regarded as the world’s longest,
consists of a Preamble, 25 Parts, 12 Schedules, 448 Articles, and 101
Amendments to date. *It contained just 385 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules when it
was first written. *The Indian Constitution was based on several constitutions from other
countries, and it took 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days to complete the
highest law of the land. |