Chandigarh, February 1
Justice can now travel by e-mail — at least in Himachal Pradesh.
This is if the new Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Jagdish Bhalla, who is to be sworn in Shimla tomorrow, has his way.
In an exclusive interview to The Tribune, Justice Bhalla said he would try to send the judgements directly to the parties through e-mail. In Chandigarh, on his way to Shimla, Justice Bhalla said the move would go a long way in speeding up justice.
As of now the process of obtaining copies of judgements from most courts across the country is not only tardy, but also tedious.
Justice Bhalla said in Chhattisgarh High Court they had successfully tried mailing court orders directly to the Union of India in a case for early implementation as they were running against time.
He added environment protection through timely judicial intervention, action against illegal construction, setting up of alternative disputes redressal mechanism, and organisation of legal literacy camps in the rural and sub-urban areas, were other measures included in his list of priorities.
He asserted emphasis would be laid on fast track courts, and also on the process of mediation, as an integral part of his campaign for providing justice without delay. “A substantial number of cases can be disposed of if the judges mediate like mothers,” he said. “Lord Krishna did not succeed in the mediation process because one
party was not only stubborn, but also looked at him with suspicion. That is why the judges have to act not just like lords, but also mothers,” he added.
The pendency problem, he asserted, could be solved to a large extent by taking the Bar in confidence. “In Chhattisgarh, we managed to make a difference by just increasing the working hours by 30 minutes daily,” he said.
Heaving a sigh of concern, Justice Bhalla said, along with justice at speed, intervention “within the four corners of law” was required for maintaining ecological balance and “making the sky blue again”.
“Class II students of a Delhi school painted the sky grey as that is the way it has been presented to them,” he asserted. “The need of the hour is not to paint a rosy picture, but to look at the reality as it exists…. You see, we are answerable to the future generations.”
Justice Bhalla said problems stem from the fact that the authorities concerned wait for things to happed before initiating action. The attitude has to change.
Justice Bhalla added the thrust of the legal system has to shift from judgements to justice. Emerging “clean” out of the controversy over land-purchase by his wife, Justice Bhalla said the matter was blown out of proportion just to malign him.
Breaking his silence over the issue, he said some of his “naïve friends” were behind the move. He asserted the faith shown by the Supreme Court in him provided a testimony.
Justice Bhalla, initially tipped to be appointed the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, was transferred in May last year as Chhattisgarh High Court Judge.
