Turning Points (5 page)

The addresses are solemn occasions and I was heard in pindrop silence each time in the overflowing Central Hall. I had two types of interactions with Parliament. One was fully government-driven, for example the five budget speeches I gave, and the other was driven by my thoughts and ideas. Even in the government presentations, I would include certain thoughts that I wanted to discuss. Both Vajpayee and Dr Singh included my suggestions.

I used this forum to impress upon the parliamentarians their roles and responsibilities towards the nation. While addressing the parliamentarians in 2007 during a commemorative function to celebrate the 150th anniversary of our independence movement, I conveyed a message that brings out the responsibilities of MPs to their respective constituencies, to their state and to the nation. I said: ‘Our movement to true freedom and independence is still incomplete; our story is still unfolding … The time has now arrived for Parliament and legislative assemblies to emerge with a new vision and leadership to make our nation not only enlightened, united, harmonious, rich and prosperous, but above all, a safe nation, invulnerable forever to invasion and infiltration across its borders …

The national leadership has to radiate confidence in our people and boldly emerge by formulating and implementing new national missions, targeting specific time-bound goals. India can be rightly proud of its many achievements in the economic, social and political fields over the past sixty years. But we cannot afford to rest content with past achievements and ignore recent developments that call for a change in technology, industry and agriculture. Many challenges need to be responded to: the emergence of multiparty coalitions as a regular form of government that need to rapidly evolve as a stable, two-party system; the need to strengthen internal security to cope with global terrorism and new forms of internal law and order problems; the widening of economic disparities during a period of high growth in the absence of a comprehensive National Prosperity Index in place of GDP alone; the rapid depletion
of global fossil fuel reserves to be tackled by an energy independence programme; and increasing threats to our territorial security by the development of new forms of warfare …

I also said: When I see you, honourable members of Parliament, particularly young members, I see in you the eternal spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Dr Ambedkar, Abul Kalam Azad, Rajaji and many great visionary leaders of our nation. Can you also become visionary leaders, putting the nation above yourself? Can you become one of the great ones of India? Yes, you can. You can, if you enliven the Parliament with leadership for the great mission of transforming India into an economically prosperous, happy, strong and safe nation before 2020. For that to happen, honourable members, you have to have a big aim and work for the nation in the Parliament and outside. History will remember you for launching a great, bold and swift mission for the nation, a notable departure from small and fragmented actions.

While I was constantly engaged in working with elected members of the state assemblies and Parliament towards realizing the vision of India 2020, it was also important for me to utilize the office of governor – another important constitutional post – to work towards the same goal. In this respect, the governors’ conferences held in Rashtrapati Bhavan during 2003 and 2005 become very important.

The 2003 conference was conducted against the backdrop of Prime Minister Vajpayee’s commitment to ensure that India became a developed nation by 2020, as outlined in his Red Fort address the previous year and in Parliament. At the 2005 governors’ conference, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confirmed his government’s commitment to the task of leading India to the same objective.

The impressive speeches at conferences get forgotten. However I placed great value on what was said, and continue to remember it as showing a serious commitment to faster development. Vajpayee stated that every part of the administrative system must recognize the need for development and further this cause, which would enable an earlier realization of our goals. This was something I could appreciate, having seen the difficulties that arise in motivating different departments to work for a combined purpose. The participating governors took the opportunity to speak their minds in an uninhibited fashion. Overall, an environment was created in which every participant could discuss problems and their solutions.

During the 2005 conference, Dr Manmohan Singh was accompanied by all his Cabinet members for a detailed discussion on the issues of education, terrorism, disaster management and implementation of Value Added Taxation based on the agenda structured by the President’s Office. Appreciating the contribution made by the governors in many areas of management development, the prime minister gave his assurance that he and his colleagues would also make every effort, guided by the inspiration provided by the president. I mention this to show how the
President’s Office became a very effective platform for my pet project.

The court cases pending in trial courts, high courts and the Supreme Court run into astonishing numbers in India. Even allowing for new cases that keep being filed, the count runs into the millions. For those involved in litigation, there is a huge cost in time, money and suffering.

In 2005, I had an opportunity to address the All India Seminar on Judicial Reforms with Special Reference to Arrears of Court Cases, where I talked about the evolution of a National Litigation Pendency Clearance Mission. I analysed the causes of delay in delivering justice, which are: 1) an inadequate number of courts; 2) an inadequate number of judicial officers; 3) the judicial officers are not fully equipped to tackle cases involving specialized knowledge; 4) the dilatory tactics followed by the litigants and their lawyers who seek frequent adjournments and delays in filing documents; and 5) the role of the administrative staff of the court.

Based on my analysis, I suggested encouraging dispute resolution through the human touch; reinforcing the Lok Adalats; creating a National Litigation Pendency Clearance Mission; ensuring alternative dispute redressal mechanisms such as arbitration; and providing fast-track courts.

I also suggested several actions with particular reference to pendency in the high courts. These included the classification of cases on the basis of an age analysis, that is,
identifying cases that are redundant because the subsequent generations are not interested in pursuing them.

Primary among my recommendations was the e-judiciary initiative. As part of this, I recommended computerization of the active case files, taking into account the age analysis, which will surely reduce the number of cases that are still pending. We needed a database that would track a case from the time it was registered till it was settled with a judgement. This electronic tracking would enable easy search, retrieval, grouping, information processing, judicial record processing and disposal of the cases in a transparent manner, and make the process quicker. The complainant can find out at any time at what stage the case is, in what court a hearing will be held and when, and which issues will be dealt with by the court, enabling him to be fully prepared for the case. Apart from bringing in total transparency, the judges would also be able to track the progress of the case, the number of adjournments that had been sought, whether the grounds for these were trivial or serious and other such information that would help in the delivery of justice.

Additionally, videoconferencing could be used in a big way. This would save an enormous amount of expenditure and the unnecessary movement of police personnel accompanying those under trial.

Videoconferencing is also very useful in cases where a number of individuals are accused. The witness identification and crime reconstruction areas have also immensely benefited from the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

Many countries, for example Singapore and Australia,
have also been experimenting with Internet Courts and a legal consultation service that can advise potential litigants about the legal correctness of the case that he or she wishes to pursue. In all cases, the ICT had been useful in speedy redressal of the cases as well as in avoiding fraudulent cases. This in effect would contribute to speeding up our justice delivery system.

Finally, I gave the following nine suggestions, which will enable our judicial system to administer timely justice to our citizens.

1)  Judges and members of the bar should consider how to limit the number of adjournments being sought.

2)  E-judiciary must be implemented in our courts.

3)  Cases should be classified and grouped according to their facts and relevant laws.

4)  Experts in specialized branches of law such as military law, service matters, taxation and cyber law should be appointed as judges.

5)  The quality of legal education in all our universities should be improved on the pattern of law schools.

6)  An exemplary penalty should be imposed for seeking undue adjournments and initiating frivolous litigation.

7)  Judges of high courts and district courts may follow the suggested model for the Supreme Court and enhance the number of cases decided by them by voluntarily working extra hours on working days and Saturdays.

8)  ‘Multi sessions in courts’ should be instituted, with staggered timings, to enhance capacity utilization with
additional manpower and an empowered management tructure.

9)  A National Litigation Pendency Clearance Mission should be created for a two-year operation for time-bound clearance of pending cases.

Over a period of time, I have found that our judiciary has taken note of these suggestions and has started their implementation in phases. For example, I was happy to hear of the settlement of a long-pending divorce case through videoconferencing; the husband was in India and the wife was in the United States.

India possesses one of the finest armed forces in the world, loyal, courageous and disciplined. The president is the supreme commander of the armed forces. In that capacity, I was always keen to know the environment in which our Servicemen operated, their state of readiness, their problems and challenges. As a part of this mission, I visited a number of units of the army, navy and air force. My interactions with the officers and jawans also led me to visit units stationed in difficult terrains. Hence, I specially chose to go to Kumar post on the Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battleground, where our troops operate in extreme cold. I also visited the submarine operations off the coast of Visakhapatnam, and flew in a Sukhoi-30 MKI at nearly twice the speed of sound. I found these exciting experiences, and would like to share them with you.