Poor judiciary adds woes to law & order
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 01 2012: The Judiciary, which is considered one of the three pillars of Democracy, is in bad shape in Manipur and it has led to worsening of law and order situation in the state.

The role of judiciary has been overlooked in the state.

In fact, it is the worst neglected area in Manipur with only 28 courts established in Subordinate Judiciary.

As a result, many civil and criminal cases have remained pending without any progress.

These Courts took more than 20 years to conduct trial of a case, thus leading to denial of justice.

This in turn led to worsening of the law and order situation in the state.

In an exclusive interview with Hueiyen Lanpao, Senior Advocate and President of High Court Bar Association, N Kumarjit said that there are only two District and Sessions Court in the state in spite of the fact that that there should be one Session Court in all revenue districts of the state.

Likewise, there should be an Additional District and Session Judge Court in all the districts of the state.

Moreover, as of now, there is only one Special Judge Court of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

But the proximity of Manipur to the infamous Golden Triangle has made it a drug route where pilfered drugs affect a large section of the population while many have been infected with HIV and AIDS.

There are more than 2000 cases pending for trial.

Considering all these and to wipe out drug trafficking, day to day trial of cases to punish drug traffickers is essential.

So, there is the urgent need to establish Special Judge Court in every district, Kumarjit maintained.

He also pointed out that there is only one Court of Special Judge CBI/NIA in the state.

However, considering the fact that Manipur is a state with a high level of corruption and related crimes and above all a militant affected state, there should be at least five courts of Special Judge CBI/NIA in Manipur.

Kumarjit noted that there is no Court for Special Judge, Electricity in Manipur so far.

Establishment of at least two such courts is needed in Manipur to check electricity theft and collect revenues and imposed fines against defaulting consumers.

On the other hand, there is also only one family Court in the state as against the actual requirement of five Family courts, namely one Court for Ukhrul, Senapati and Tamenglong, one court for Thoubal and Chandel, one court for Bishnupur and Churachandpur and one court each for Imphal East and West.

Likewise, at present there is no court for Motor Accident Claims Tribunal and there is the need to establish at least five Courts of Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in the state, including one court for Ukhrul, Senepati and Tamenglong, one court for Thoubal and Chandel, one court for Bishnupur and Churachandpur and one each for Imphal East and Imphal West, Kumarjit said.

He also pointed out that for effective administration of Justice there is the need to create at least two posts of Revenue and other Tribunal, five posts out of the single post of Secretary (Judicial)/ Registrar; six posts of Joint Registrar/Joint Secretary; 23 posts out of the existing 13 post of Chief Judicial Magistrate/Deputy Registrar (Judicial)/Civil Judge Senior Division/Deputy Secretary (Judicial) in the state.

Since one Court for every Sub Divisional area and additional Courts for the Municipal areas are required at present, the existing 10 number of Courts for the Civil Judge Junior Division/ Judicial Magistrate 1st Class should be increased to 40, he observed.

He went on to point out that without recruitment of officers and staffs, the Courts cannot function properly.

But due to non-availability of adequate funds, the officers and Judges have not been appointed and many Courts are not functioning.

So, adequate funds should also be made available through the High Courts.

It may be recalled here that the High Court Bar Association, Manipur had submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister when he visited Imphal in December, 2011 to inaugurate the High Court Complex and the Capitol Project and the City Convention centre.

The memorandum pleaded for the establishment of a Separate High Court and for up-gradation and expansion of the Subordinate Judiciary in Manipur.

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