Mumbai, April 08: The Bombay high court on Wednesday told a petitioner that he had been a looking glass for them. “For the first time, we are looking
at ourselves,” justice FI Rebello said.
The court was hearing Anil Gidwani’s, an engineer from Bandra, suggestions for reforms in the judicial system. After Gidwani wasted three years in litigation over an alleged illegal parking, he
filed a petition asking the court to intervene and check the administration of magistrate courts.
Since 2007, the magistrate courts in the city have heard 2,670 cases under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, according to a report submitted in court by Sangitrao Patil, registrar (legal). Going by statistics, magistrates can dispose of several cases of drunken driving and petty offences at the stage of admission.
In January, the high court had directed the magistrate to conclude the hearing of Gidwani’s case in 30 days. The police had lodged a case against him on March 9, 2007. Gidwani was recently acquitted.
On Tuesday, Gidwani pointed out the lacunae in the subordinate judiciary and said when magistrates are transferred, the courts remain vacant for months. A time limit should be set for hearing, he said.
“There cannot be any time limits,” Rebello said. “No country has the kind of litigation that we do.” Each magistrate in Mumbai has at least 5,000 cases pending, he said. At least 300 magistrates need to be appointed to clear only Mumbai’s backlog, the judge said.
Complaints against magistrates should be redressed, Gidwani said. “People are very angry that their time is lost,” he said. “Who would compensate a citizen for the loss of time?”
The case will come up for hearing on April 27.
—Agencies