A 108 years old man dies after waiting decades for justice: Shameful for the Indian Justice System, like ever since!

India has a justice system on which numerous people rely for real justice. The citizens of India have been waiting for years and decades to get the result of their filed applications which does not lead to anything but grows layers of dust over files. Justice in India is delivered at such a slow pace that people die in the process.

The inefficiency and improper delivery of justice to the people are slowly instilling the notion of the ‘inability of the justice system’ in people’s minds. People are made to believe that the Indian justice system would surely provide them with the results in their favor if they are truthful. However, the occurrences do not prove to be the same way.

The ongoing history of delayed justice in India 

The delayed justice in the Indian Judiciary is not a new thing and has been in existence since the very beginning of the 20th century. Several people and officials address the problem, but there seems to be no significant change in the procedure or duration. To be precise, the Indian judicial system is not at all efficient in addressing timely justice to the citizens of India.

To the people waiting in queues for justice amounts to huge numbers, ‘delayed justice is no justice at all.’ There have been several instances where people die waiting for the right decision to be delivered, which is merely because of their deep-rooted hope and trust in the Indian judicial system. According to several reports, more than 25 million cases have been pending all over India, and the number keeps on growing every day. Several gridlocks in the judicial system, including the inefficient delivery of justice, make the people draw back their trust from the same.

Numerous committees failed to implement the right decisions for timely justice. 

Numerous committees have been set up to work upon the same obstructions caused in the Indian judicial system, but no effective measure has come into existence. In 1924, another committee under Justice Rankin of the Calcutta High court was set up to address the issue of delayed justice, which could not find a solution or implement the same.

Later in 1929, SR Das was the chairman of another committee set up for the same reason, which merely gave a few suggestions to make the procedure speedy. In 1972 another committee under JC Shah was set up mentioning the issue of lesser judges in high courts as the root cause of delayed results.

None of these committees managed to bring a significant change in the justice system of India or the time of justice delivery, as the measures or decisions were not at all implemented or considered in the further meetings by the officials.

Increased crimes as decisions remain on hold for decades.

This agonizing pace of the Indian judicial system not only affects the past generations but also affects the present and the future. The delayed justice and lengthy hearings lead to mental stress among the people who are waiting for a mere decision of the supreme court or any other court in the judicial system, and they gradually die without the judgment.

There have been instances of people fighting in courts for years and decades while justice remains undelivered. It creates a significant problem of increased criminal cases and fraud in India. People get the surety of not being caught or barred for at least the next 10 to 15 years, which gives them an excellent duration for their deeds.

Sopan Gaikwad, a 108-years old man, dies after waiting 52 years for justice.

A case of the extreme dedication of an old man and failure of the justice system is that of Sopan Narsinga Gaikwad. Sopan is a 118-year-old man who had been in the middle of his petition since 1968, which remains pending ever since. His petition was filed in Bombay High court, where it was not at all considered and remained still for continuous 27 years, which is more than two decades, mentioning the exact time for the government to notice. 

Later on July 12, 2021, the Supreme Court managed and agreed to hear the appeal. The council of Gaikwad mentioned his age and the hardships he had to go through to merely keep up with the courts and wait for the decision. Sopan Narsinga Gaikwad belongs to one of the rural areas of Maharashtra and has been surviving the hardships and drawbacks of the Indian judicial system for the last 52 years. The duration is huge and questions the efficiency of our Indian judicial system, which has been the only hope for the citizens for the rightful decision. Gaikwad died waiting for the final decision and hearing of the court, which is a great disgrace to the Indian judicial system.

Only acceptance of petition, the final decision is still in the process.

Sopan Narsinga Gaikwad lost his life before July 12 when the supreme court finally decided to take up the case. However, the news of his demise reached just after the hearing from the rural area where he lived. It is decided that his petition would be delivered in the court through the legal heirs who would even now run here and there for a decision upon the land issue.

The case of Gaikwad seems to be pretty insignificant in the eyes of the governments and higher authorities but meant the world to him. No single individual would carry on with the obstructions of a court for more than 50 years if the case were insignificant for him.

The case that Gaikwad filed was that of land purchased by him in 1968 according to a registered sale deed. He later understood that it was already titled to a bank in lieu of the loan sanctioned for the original owner.

At the time when the owner who took the loan was found defaulted, the bank reached Gaikwad and sanctioned a report in his name. Gaikwad has been troubled since then and is looking for justice in all levels of courts. The death of Gaikwad before the final justice is extremely shameful for the Indian justice system as it could not manage to deliver a mere land case decision for 50 years. 

Shame on the Indian Judiciary, which failed to credit the dedication of a 108 years old man

The dedication of Gaikwad is completely opposite to that of the supreme court or any other High court that he reached for justice. No random person can wait for half a century to get the final decision from a court. Even after such a long period, the supreme court had only agreed to take upon the case, and we are not even sure about how many years it would take for the final delivery of its decision. The poor man died waiting for his right to get justice through the legal courts, while India failed to credit his hard work and brought disgrace to the entire country.

Vinod’s death case: The mother visits courts on a stretcher for several years

This was not the only case that displays the inefficiency of the Indian judicial system. There are thousands and lakhs of cases where people died waiting for justice or either remain dismissed. In 1994, a man named Vinod had died where the CBI never found the body. However, according to India’s intelligence agency reports, an officer named Sumedh Singh Saini is responsible for the death. However, even after 22 years, there was no justice, and only 36 witnesses have been heard or brought to court since then. Four of the witnesses have already died before being present in the court. 

Amar Kaur, Vinod’s mother, who was 94 years old, is unable to speak or hear. She still gets goosebumps when she hears her son’s name and shouts ‘Insaaf,’ meaning justice. Amar Kaur is a woman of great power who used to visit the courts on a stretcher. She gave the testimony for the murder case of her son when she was 86 years. This is a great shame on the reputation of the Indian judicial system, where a woman who is not in perfect condition has to visit the courts on a stretcher for justice. However, the courts and judges being completely fine and healthy are inefficient in delivering the final decision.

Disgrace brought by the inefficiency of the Indian Justice System

There are several other cases which cannot be mentioned in a few words as the amount to several thousand and lakhs. There are millions of people waiting to be heard in the courts and get the final decisions. However, the judicial system remains inefficient and ineffective, leading to extreme disgrace to the country.

No interference of the government even after decades of injustice to the people

The Government of India has always been telling the citizens to believe in the Indian Judiciary. People are made to believe that the Indian judicial system would provide them with the right justice, and hence the things should not be taken into individuals’ hands. However, the government fails to fulfill its promise forever. People wait for years and decades, but the response is never heard.

There is no interference from the government when the courts delay justice or decisions but surely when people take things into their own hands. This is the major reason for increasing crimes and fraud cases in India, wherein people have lost their trust in the country’s justice system of the promises made by the government. 

The government should realize that they are in power for our welfare and work for the same instead of delaying the procedures and leading to inefficient working. It is a great shame for the government and the country that the citizens are dying without proper justice even after waiting for several decades.