76% litigation on property, family disputes

Study of 9,000 cases shows 64% get bail In A Month.

Property disputes and family conflicts clog our judicial system and, in a majority of cases, police detain the accused unnecessarily: these are the findings of Daksh, an NGO that analyzes the performance of the judiciary . Around 66% of all cases studied are property-related litigations, and 10% -the second largest chunk -are family matters.

The survey , involving more than 9,000 civil and criminal matters over 300 subordinate courts across the country, boosts the government's call for a "no detention policy" in the near future, where arrest is an exception and not the rule if an accused is available for interrogation and has honoured court summons. In 64% of cases, accused were found to have been granted bail within a month of his or her arrest, probably since the courts did not find enough merit in keeping them behind bars. Another 14% were granted bail between one and six months.

The Supreme Court had, in the past, while supporting 'bail is the rule and jail is exception' theory , observed that police should refrain from arresting an accused if he or she is ready to cooperate in the investigation and there is no fear that the accused would run away from clutches of the law.

During the study , spread over three months, Daksh interviewed 9,329 litigants in both civil and criminal matters from 305 lower courts in 170 districts in 24 states. The wide range of data portrays the need to correct the entire justice delivery system corroded over time, which at present seems to be favouring the rich and influential.

The survey by the Bengaluru NGO was released on Saturday in the capital in presence of Justice Madan B Lokur, senior Supreme Court judge overseeing the implementation of judicial reforms in the country .

The survey also substantiates what National Law University (NLU) - which partnered Daksh in the current survey - had found in an independent study last year. NLU's interviews with 373 death row convicts had found that 75% of those given the death penalty belonged to economically weaker sections, backward classes and religious minorities.

Many were sentenced to death probably because they couldn't defend their case due to their failure to find a competent lawyer to contest their conviction.

The current Daksh study, too, points to a similar picture. Around 31% of those who couldn't avail bail was due to their inability to furnish a bail bond. In 2.8% of cases, the accused couldn't find a guarantor who could stand as surety . Surprisingly , there is no rule that prohibits courts from releasing an undertrial where it feels detention is avoidable. The amended Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for release of undertrials under personal bond where he is not able to furnish the bond money or surety .

"The Access to Justice Survey is designed to understand the functioning of the judiciary and profile of litigants. The survey interviews current litigants to see if they are able to use the judicial system effectively to resolve their problems. It evaluates how social profile determines ease of access," said Harish Narasappa, co-founder of Daksh.

There's a huge loss of wages while appearing for court hearings and legal fees cost litigants over Rs 80,000 crore a year.