Towards ensuring Justice

Enhancing quality of legal service, ensuring fair trials, promoting justice and upholding the principles of legal aid and representation are the hallmarks of a vibrant and efficient justice delivery system. The essence and spirit of every law is to prevent wrongs and provide adequate and immediate relief to the wronged. Wrongs creep up in usual course of life-private, public, official or unofficial due to biased dissent in agreements, differences of opinion, unjustified claims and clash of interest.

Assent and dissent are the most necessary parts of life for all humans to continue their efforts to get and feel better. While dissent on any subject matter may lead to necessary course correction in the approach to life, assent from the same people acts like a much needed tonic or an elixir that enables the person concerned to carry on with renewed zeal to further fine tune the life style, work culture and social behavior; acceptable to a larger portion of a society.

Humankind is of same make but it is different in outward shape and inward thinking. Though all human beings have genes which provide the biological formation for brain structures, shaping individual thinking, planning, cognitive ability & personality  and decision making, yet they do not stop or limit it to differ in view point, analysis and critical appreciation of a thing or situation.

While most of the matters get subsumed by accommodating one another’s view point mutually, the unresolved ones reach revenue or judicial courts or tribunals for final decision and disposal. The adjudicating, the appellate and reviewing authorities act as per the guidance laid down under various kinds & categories of laws and rules on a matter under trial.

After a case is filed the judicial court does not decide it instantly, and pronounce its judgement promptly. Reason being, courts too are to adhere to a constitutionally prescribed course. Sometimes they go by stare decisis although they are not rigidly bound by the doctrine of stare decisis and departure from that decision may be justified.

This is an inevitability to give ample opportunity to all the contesting parties to play their cards so as to arrive at a fair & full conclusion to pronounce a justified verdict. Common reasons for court cases include civil disputes, criminal claims, family law issues, contract disputes and employment disputes/service matters.

In many cases of service matters decided in favour of employees the adjudicating authorities order/have ordered to give benefit either prospectively or from the date of issue of orders or notionally from the date of filing a suit to date of judgement and thereafter with monetary benefits. In such situations most of the employees who feel incorrect application or misinterpretation of rules and who initiate the cases as such to get necessary and justified corrections lose the benefits.

Those who are not in service at the time of lodging a suit get benefits unsought. The spirit of law, justice and ethics enjoin upon the adjudicating authorities to decide the cases in a manner that addresses the grievances of the original contenders, else seniors become losers which is against the principle of natural justice. The practice of giving prospective effect or from the date of deciding the cases, and issuing orders by the Hon’ble Courts therefrom detonates the financial health of the already aggrieved litigants who are burdened with the cost of avoidable litigation.

The State, as per Constitution and by practice, is a welfare State and whilst exercising governance it is expected to protect and promote the social and economic well being of its citizens. It is only when the genuine grievances are not heeded that they are brought to the tribunals or judicial courts for redressal.

It means that aggrieved parties suffer long before they feel it an ultimate resort and constrained to go to the deciding authorities outside their offices and departments. It is not that employers are averse to the agreements or the welfare of their employees but the former interpretation of rules or schemes their way.

The legal system in criminal justice, while deciding a criminal case, tries not only to winnow the culprits from the accused but goes further to track the remote and original offenders also. If for imposing punishments, fines etc., no one is left and justice is done to all ad valorem, a similar yardstick may be applied in awarding benefits to all concerned in case of service/employment matters.

This is no equation of criminal laws with civil/service laws  but of delivering justice. In common law and civil law legal disputes, courts are the central means for dispute resolution. It would be in the fittest of things if hon’ble courts, while finally pronouncing judgements, order giving benefits ab-initio a case is initiated by the concerned. That would be towards more justice.

The author is a former Sr. Audit Officer and Consultant in the A.G’s Office Srinagar.