बेबाक · Editorial
ନାଗରିକଙ୍କ ଶେଷ ଠିକଣାଃ ସହାୟତା ଏବଂ ଅତ୍ୟଧିକ ବୋଝ ମଧ୍ୟରେ ଭାରତର ଅଦାଲତ
ନିକଟରେ ଏକ ଡକେଟ୍-ଏକ ଛୋଟ ଋଣଗ୍ରହୀତା ଠାରୁ ଆରମ୍ଭ କରି ଏକ ଶବକୁ ଅପେକ୍ଷା କରୁଥିବା ଏକ ପରିବାର ପର୍ଯ୍ୟନ୍ତ-ନ୍ୟାୟପାଳିକା ଏକ ଗୁରୁତ୍ୱପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଉପାୟ ଏବଂ ଅତ୍ୟଧିକ ପ୍ରସାରିତ ଭାବରେ ଦର୍ଶାଏ |
ଆଶ୍ରୟସ୍ଥଳ ଭାବେ ନ୍ୟାୟାଳୟ
ନିକଟରେ ଏକ ମାମଲାରେ, ଗୋଟିଏ ଅନୁଷ୍ଠାନ ସମାନ କାରଣ ପାଇଁ ପୁନର୍ବାର ଦୃଶ୍ୟମାନ ହେଲାଃ ଏହା ହେଉଛି ଯେଉଁଠାରେ ନାଗରିକମାନେ ଶୁଣାଣି କରିବାକୁ ଯାଇଥିଲେ | ସର୍ବୋଚ୍ଚ ନ୍ୟାୟାଳୟ କହିଥିଲେ ଯେ ନା ସରକାର ନା ସରକାର।
When Process Punishes
Yet the same cause list documents the system straining against itself. A Special CBI Court has taken twenty years and 128 witnesses to approach a verdict in the murder of a former political leader, with judgment deferred from May 2026 and scheduled for June 16. At the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, three months after Akash Delison died in what his family calls custodial torture, the court directed his father to receive the body by 5 p.m. on June 15, 2026, failing which the State would be directed to dispose of it. In Delhi, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have filed fresh bail pleas after a January 5 rejection, even as five co-accused were granted relief. The principle is affirmed at one bench while, at another, justice arrives too late to console.
Both Sides, Honestly
Honesty requires the hardest version of each side. The courts are burdened, obstructive litigation can be real, and when the Supreme Court denied anticipatory bail to Punjab RTI activists it accused of obstructing road work — calling their activism a 'new business' — it was naming a serious abuse: accountability machinery turned into leverage. But the opposite danger is graver. To brand the assertion of rights as 'business' can hand every inconvenienced authority a vocabulary for silencing scrutiny. The Right to Information exists so citizens can ask uncomfortable questions of power. A court must punish the racket without discrediting the right — and the line between the two is where its credibility now lives.
Where Power Meets Powerlessness
The pattern recurs wherever power meets powerlessness. In Delhi, a civic crackdown logged 217 demolitions, 237 properties sealed, 330 show-cause notices for unauthorised construction, 151 sealing show-cause notices and 91 demolition orders — a scale that demands confidence that due process kept pace with enforcement. Abroad, the US Supreme Court rejected TCS's appeal in a $168 million trade-secrets case involving allegations that TCS misused proprietary life-insurance software originally licensed by CSC to Transamerica, a reminder that the law must bind large firms as firmly as ordinary litigants. And the Bombay High Court had to direct State protection for former judge Justice Patel, his wife and daughter. When the bench itself needs the bench's shelter, the warning is not subtle.
The Considered View
The considered view is this: the judiciary remains a vital institution of recourse and, at once, among the most strained — and the two facts are linked. People crowd the courts because other doors have closed, and the crowding is what makes justice slow, costly and uneven. The Supreme Court's notices on Bihar minister Deepak Prakash's reappointment, questioned on constitutional grounds related to electoral requirements, and its move to pause proceedings in four high courts on challenges to the Transgender Persons Act to avoid conflicting rulings, show a court conscious of its duty. But conscience is not capacity. A court asked to fix everything is not proof of judicial triumph but of administrative failure, and an institution made to answer every failure will struggle to answer each one well enough.
The Way Forward
The way forward is unglamorous and within reach. Keep recruitment pipelines moving: the relief granted to Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service aspirants is a reminder that staffing the justice system is a basic reform. Ringfence trial timelines so no citizen waits twenty years for a verdict, and make custodial-death inquiries time-bound and independent, so no family waits three months for a body. Fund the subordinate judiciary, where most Indians actually meet the law. Consolidate constitutional questions, as the apex court did with the Transgender Persons Act, to spare litigants conflicting rulings. A republic is only as strong as the speed and fairness with which its weakest member can be heard. That is the work.
ସବୁକିଛି ଠିକ୍ କରିବାକୁ କୁହାଯାଇଥିବା ଅଦାଲତ ନ୍ୟାୟିକ ବିଜୟର ପ୍ରମାଣ ନୁହେଁ ବରଂ ପ୍ରଶାସନିକ ବିଫଳତାର ପ୍ରମାଣ।
At stake is whether Articles 14, 21 and 32 remain meaningful for ordinary citizens without compromising Article 50’s separation of judicial and executive power.
Rights Recourse Timelines Bill
Parliament should enact a Rights Recourse Timelines Bill requiring time-bound, reasoned judicial handling of cases involving personal liberty, custodial death procedures, demolition or sealing orders, and attempts to contractually bar access to courts. The law should fund court-controlled case-management units and mandate public pendency dashboards for these categories, while leaving listing and adjudication to the judiciary.
ଆପଣଙ୍କର ସାମ୍ବିଧାନିକ ଅଧିକାର
ଏହି କାହାଣୀରେ ସମ୍ବିଧାନ କ "ଣ ଗ୍ୟାରେଣ୍ଟି ଦେଉଛି?The State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services.
Directive PrincipleThe right to move the Supreme Court directly to enforce fundamental rights — called by Dr Ambedkar "the heart and soul of the Constitution." The courts can issue writs such as habeas corpus and mandamus.
Fundamental RightNo person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except by a fair, just and reasonable procedure established by law — read by the courts to include dignity, privacy, health, a clean environment and livelihood.
Fundamental RightThe State shall not deny any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws. Like must be treated alike; the law cannot be arbitrary.
Fundamental RightWhat this editorial rests on
Drawn from our live multi-newsroom feed — read the reporting at source.
ଆନ୍ଦୋଳନରେ ସାମିଲ ହୁଅନ୍ତୁ।
ଗୋଟିଏ ସମୟରେ ଗୋଟିଏ ନିର୍ଭୀକ ସମ୍ପାଦକୀୟ-ଆପଣଙ୍କ ଭାଷାରେ। ଏହା ସହିତ ସାମ୍ବିଧାନିକ ଅନୁରୋଧ ଯାହା ଅନୁସରଣ କରିବା ଆବଶ୍ୟକ |
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