Vice Prez expresses concern over HP assemby happenings

Otherwise, the people might get disillusioned with our polity soon, Naidu said.Frequent disruption and stalling of legislative proceedings would not serve any purpose and everyone must realize that the only way forward for every problem is to discuss, debate and decide and not disrupt, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha added.Further, issues like delay and huge pendency of cases in the courts across the country have to be addressed to ensure speedier delivery of justice, he said.The cost of legal processes is a major impediment in making justice accessible to all.

Vice President M Venkiah Naidu on Saturday expressed concern over the ''recent happenings'' in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, where Governor Bandaru Dattatreya was allegedly manhandled by some Congress MLAs.

The Leader of Opposition and four other opposition party legislators were suspended.

Dattatreya was allegedly manhandled by some Congress members in the Assembly complex in Shimla on Friday, following which the five MLAs were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session.

In his address at the 11th Convocation of the Dr Ambedkar Law University here, Naidu said people in public life and high positions must set an example to others by maintaining high standards.

''I was distressed by the recent happenings in the Himachal Pradesh legislature and a few other states. I urge all public representatives to conduct themselves in a decent and dignified manner in every forum. Otherwise, the people might get disillusioned with our polity soon,'' Naidu said.

Frequent disruption and stalling of legislative proceedings would not serve any purpose and everyone must realize that the only way forward for every problem is to discuss, debate and decide and not disrupt, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha added.

Further, issues like delay and ''huge pendency'' of cases in the courts across the country have to be addressed to ensure speedier delivery of justice, he said.

''The cost of legal processes is a major impediment in making justice accessible to all. A common perception is that there are many hidden costs in availing the legal route to resolve disputes,'' he said.

''We have to find ways to reduce this out-of-pocket expenditure to the common citizen,'' he added.

''There is also a serious issue of protracted litigation.

Timeliness in rendering justice is a major concern. As the maxim goes, justice delayed is justice denied. This delay is often attributed to huge pendency in courts, frequent adjournments and long leaves of courts.'' ''We have to address this problem of inordinate delay and do whatever is possible in our own purview to ensure speedier justice,'' Naidu said.

While there was no silver bullet to solve all these problems, ''we must find systemic solutions to these challenges,'' he noted.

For better access, more courts, special benches and adequately staffed courts with all posts filled up are required. Innovations like Lok Adalats and mobile courts have to be leveraged upon wherever feasible, he said.

''The system needs to be demystified and brought closer to the people by conducting court proceedings and delivering judgments in the language of local people,'' he added.

Legal aid mechanisms may need to be more streamlined.

''There was a lot of pendency of nearly four crore cases in our judicial system and they have accumulated over the years, with most of these being petty cases in the lower courts,'' he said.

The judicial system must evolve methods for the speedy disposal of these cases, the vice president said.

More avenues may have to be created for the quick resolution of disputes, he said.

''Frequent adjournments could be avoided and except in extraordinary situations, we can develop a Standard Operating Procedure that limits the number of adjournments to a reasonable number like one or two,'' Naidu suggested.