Flawed justice: Poor training weakens an already under-resourced system

The latest Indian Justice Report has underlined a depressing reality evident to most Indians: That the justice-delivery ecosystem mostly fails its citizens. The report, published by Tata Trusts with a consortium of civil society organisations, ranks states on the basis of 24 parameters covering the four pillars of the justice system: Police, judiciary, prisons, and legal aid. Expectedly, it shows wide divergences in performances, with the southern states performing the best on all four pillars. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu rank at the top among the large and mid-sized states, while West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan anchor the bottom of the table. The state rankings may suggest that the higher-scoring states are models when it comes to efficiency, resources, or even achieving social equity. In fact, no state can claim to have an optimally functioning justice system — for instance, Karnataka, the highest-ranked state, scored 6.78/10, a slightly better than average performance.

 

To be sure, ticking boxes on pre-determined metrics does not fully reflect the reality of the justice-delivery system as experienced by its people. What the report partially reveals is why the ecosystem is so dysfunctional. A major part of the problem is the gross shortage at almost every level of the justice system. There is, for instance, a 23 per cent vacancy in the police force and over 50 per cent vacancy among forensic staff in the country, even as the number of forensic labs has risen from 94 to 110 between 2020 and 2024. The latter issue has become particularly acute as over 30,000 cases requiring forensic analysis remain pending, with Uttar Pradesh alone accounting for over 11,000. The report shows that prisons remain overcrowded, with occupancy rising to 131 per cent, and the share of undertrials at 76 per cent. This is despite several Supreme Court directives to states to release undertrials who have been in jail for specified durations. Prisons are also understaffed, with 30 per cent of staff positions vacant nationally. The judiciary is hardly better-resourced. The report revealed there are 15 judges per 1 million people, as against a Law Commission recommendation of 500. As for legal aid, the report says the number of para-legal volunteers has dropped significantly, suggesting that the poorest and most vulnerable sections of Indians have less access to support facilities for securing justice.

 

Nor does the justice system appear to reflect the objectives of social and gender equity embedded in the Constitution. Nationally, against a 33 per cent recommendation by the government, women officers in senior positions account for just 8 per cent, and no state or Union Territory has met its quota for women in the police force. In the judiciary, women constitute 38 per cent at lower levels and 14 per cent in higher courts. Among the states, only Karnataka meets its caste quotas in the judiciary. Compounding these deficiencies is the poor quality of training, especially at subaltern level, where basic knowledge of the law and the Constitution are found wanting. Imbued with the colonial legacies of repression and control, India is yet to make the transition to a justice system that is guided by the objective of service to the people in upholding constitutional liberties. That remains the major challenge that needs to be addressed as much as a shortage of resources.