Court Cases in India that have been stuck in limbo for a long time!

Sometimes, due to the power and influence of some accused, and lack of criminalizing evidence, court cases simply keep dragging on. Here are some shameful examples!

It’s been seven decades since we achieved independence. Since then, India has seen some interesting court cases that have mostly been either inspiring or traumatic!

Our Indian constitution is considered as the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world! However, owing to the vast expanse of our constitution, some cases take really long to reach a verdict due to various contradictory acts in the supreme law of India and how evidence is processed in our judiciary.

‘Justice delayed is Justice denied’

In India, our courthouses are so overburdened with cases that this legal principle has become common hearsay, especially in cases where relief to the victim is needed in a timely fashion, but since some grievance cases run for an average of 7-15 years to reach a befitting verdict, you can consider them as providing no relief at all.

The time taken by courts of all levels in India to deliver their judgments is a source of serious worry and agony, especially considering that the largest litigant in India is actually the state (constituting central and state governments and the immediate departments under them)!

According to an analysis, if the all the judges in India close 100 cases every hour without rest, it would still take 35 years to eliminate the backlog of cases, especially considering the fact that it takes more than 10 years to dispose of 57% of district and subordinate court cases!

Why the unnecessary delay?

According to the Civil Procedure Code (1908) and the Criminal Procedure Code (1973), procedural law is set out in the way that:

• Each party should be entitled to represent itself; and
• Each party should have adequate notice of any claims against itself. This would allow the party enough time to prepare its case.

Therefore at each stage of the litigation, when a claim is made, notice of such claim is served on the other side with time allowing the other side to prepare and then a hearing.

This is why you keep seeing review petitions, challenges in higher courts and transfers to other courts as a ploy to defer case verdicts or to challenge them.

Here are infamous examples of some long-running court cases in India which have been dragging on for years:

Sant Rampal – The original Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

• In November 2014, self-styled godman was holed-up in his 12-acre Satlok Ashram in Barwala and resisted getting arrested by police and paramilitary forces for the alleged murder of an Arya Samaj follower in 2006 when a violent clash between the followers of two sects happened over derogatory remarks against Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s book, Satyarth Prakash. The clashes led to the death of six (5 women and 1 child) more people.
• He faces various cases against him including sedition, attempt to murder, murder, criminal conspiracy, hoarding of illegal weapons and the aiding and abetting if suicide-mongers.
• Since his arrest and trial, he has been acquitted in two cases related to public rioting in 2017 however, he remains in judicial custody as the other cases related to murder and sedition were are still outstanding.

Operation Blue Star – Case of Jagdish Tytler’s alleged involvement

• Abhishek Verma (the main suspect in the Scorpene submarines deal, AgustaWestland VVIP helicopters bribery scandal and Navy War Room Leak Case) is the main witness in 1984 Sikh Riots genocide case against Congress Leader Jagdish Tytler. In December 2015, the CBI was directed to record his testimony as a witness in this case against Tytler.
• Two other eyewitnesses, Jasbir Singh and Surinder Singh, who now live in the US, have also told the CBI that they saw Jagdish Tytler lead a mob during the riots, but did not want to come to India as they feared for their security.
• Tytler currently faced cases of alleged criminal conspiracy to engineer riots against Sikhs in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination on 31 October 1984.

Virbhadra Singh – Money Laundering Case

• In 2009, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Himachal Pradesh filed cases against Singh and his wife for the breach of the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1989 (when Singh was Chief Minister of the state).
• In 2015, the Central Bureau of Investigation found that Singh and his family owned Rs. 6.1 crore disproportionate assets when he was the union minister between 2009 and 2011. When the case was transferred to the CBI, the CBI claimed that Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate to his total income during his tenure as a Union minister.
• Chauhan was arrested on July 9, 2016, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), but was granted bail.
• In 2018, a special court has asked the Enforcement Directorate to file its supplementary charge sheet against Singh to fast-track the case’s hearing.

INX Media – Money Laundering Case

• Indrani Mukerjea (prime-accused along with her husband Peter Mukerjea in the Sheena Bora murder case) was the chairperson of INX News in 2007. The couple is also accused of securing dubious sources of funding for INX Media which amounts to allegations of financial impropriety. References found in the Niira Radia tapes by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) point out that the owing to financial losses the business’s shares previously valued at ₹208.24 were sold to unsuspecting Nai Dunia (the company which partly bought INX media) shareholders for just ₹10 each!
• The SFIO is currently pursuing cases of Indian Penal Code Sections 120B (conspiracy), 415 (cheating), 418 (cheating with the knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to persons whose interest offender is bound to protect), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) against the couple.
• They are also facing a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 which accuses INX media of laundering ₹275.5 crore (₹2.755 billion) via Mauritius into eight INX Group subsidiary companies between 2007 and 2008, as calculated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. They have also been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 by the Enforcement Directorate.

Delhi Tanker Scam

• The alleged scam worth Rs 400 crore is said to have been orchestrated when the Congress party’s Sheila Dixit was the-then chairperson of the DJB (Delhi Jal Board) and Chief Minister of Delhi (until 2013).
• The alleged scam points out various irregularities in the hiring private of water tankers to supply water to areas in Delhi that are not part of DJB’s water pipeline network. Favoritism was noticed in the hiring of 385 stainless-steel water tankers from private companies by the DJB.
• The AAP government in June 2015 set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the scam which dated the scam to the year
• However, the Anti Corruption Branch’s (ACB) further investigations have revealed that Arvind Kejriwal (current CM of Delhi) is trying to suppress the alleged scam’s report to protect people in the Aam Aadmi Party. Kapil Mishra (former member of AAP), who was fired from the Delhi cabinet and removed as chairman of the DJB who pressed hard for the release of tanker scam report is one of the main witnesses now.

As you can see, most of these pending matters are open and shut cases, however, due to the long process of the law’s course, cases before our courts keep going on for years!

However, some changes have been made to the judiciary’s process. Former Chief Justice of India, T.S. Thakur, advised judges to focus on high disposal rates instead of pendency and to fill judge vacancies at a faster rate to fill the void.

Furthermore, the high pendency in courts can decline only with an introduction of technology and modern tools apart from a process overhaul that normally takes so many years! India needs to develop and embrace a new and modern judicial system which can dispense justice speedily, otherwise, we will still be hearing of the court cases mentioned above even after 5 to 10 years!