IMPACT ON JUDICIARY SYSTEM DUE TO PANDEMIC

Inevitably and like every sphere of normal life, the Pandemic as wildfire is impacting on the spectrum of Judiciary System. Litigation in multiple ways has also crippled the courts across the country as Judges, Advocates and Litigants are trying to achieve justice under the law while balancing public safety. The current situation poses a new test every day for the executive and the judiciary. For the executive; it is a test to enforce the law of the land, and guarantee the Fundamental Rights provided by the Indian Constitution. For the judiciary, it is the test to uphold those rights which have been denied by the State. Courts around the world have swiftly embraced technology, including mandatory electronic filing, restricting hearings to only critical cases and conducting them through video conferencing as Virtual Court Although it may necessitate the creation of a specialized advisory vertical focused on guiding businesses in navigating various challenges that will come up- both in the long term, and the short term.

With only limited Benches presiding over selective matters daily, cases pending before constitution benches have been put on the back burner. All courts, including the Supreme Court, High courts and Districts courts, have been operating in a highly restricted manner until at least 16 Th June.2020. But now, Suspension of the work of courts that citizens and businesses might need has interlude legal aid, difficulty to access information and delays in enforcing a decision in a cross-border context or in serving a judicial document. Right to a speedy trial is an integral part of the principles of fair trial and is fundamental to the international human rights discourse.In Indian jails, most of the prisoners are undertrials, which are confined to the jails until their case comes to a definite conclusion, the expenses and pain and agony of defending themselves in courts is worse than serving the actual sentence. Undertrials are not guilty till convicted. 

In an attempt to uphold and protect the Constitutional Pillar, the judiciary need to constantly re-evaluate their needful in the crisis hour of Mankind’s.