Legislature doesn't study or assess impact of law: CJI NV Ramana

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on Saturday said the legislature does not conduct studies or assess the impact of the laws that it passes, which sometimes leads to "big issues" and result in over-burdening of cases on the judiciary.

He also highlighted that simply re-branding the existing courts as commercial courts, without creating a special infrastructure, will not have any impact on the pendency. Addressing judges and lawyers, CJI Ramana said, "We must remember that whatever criticism or obstacle that we may encounter, our mission to render justice cannot stop. We have to march on in pursuing our duty to strengthen the judiciary and protect the rights of the citizenry."

The CJI, who was speaking at the valedictory ceremony of Constitution Day celebrations in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, said the issue of pendency of cases in the judiciary is multi-faceted in nature and hoped that the government would take into consideration the suggestions received during this two-day programme and resolve the prevailing issues.

"Another issue is that the legislature does not conduct studies or assess the impact of the laws that it passes. This sometimes leads to big issues. The introduction of section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is an example of this. Now, the already-burdened magistrates are further burdened by thousands of these cases. Similarly, re-branding the existing courts as commercial courts, without creating a special infrastructure, will not have any impact on the pendency," he said. Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act deals with dishonour of cheques for insufficiency of funds in bank accounts.

The CJI lauded the announcement of the Union law minister that the government has allocated Rs 9,000 crore, a substantial amount, for the development of judicial infrastructure.

"However, as I have highlighted yesterday, funds are not the problem. The problem is with some of the states not coming forward to match the grants. As a result, the central funds largely remain unutilised," he said. "That is the reason why I am proposing a special purpose vehicle of judicial infrastructure authority. I beseech the minister to take this proposal to a logical conclusion. I also urge the minister to expedite the process of filling judicial vacancies," the CJI said. He added that the purpose of the two-day meet was to highlight the dedication to constitutional principles and on Friday, he had mentioned how even the well-informed sections of the society are unaware of the importance of the Constitution.

"Although we are tirelessly working to uphold the Constitution, there is still a need to spread more understanding about the Constitution. If people are unaware about their rights and entitlements, they cannot claim benefit from the same. People also need to know the scope and limitations of the roles ascribed to the different organs of the State. We need to clear the prevailing misconceptions," he said.