CJI: People get fed up with protracted court proceedings, process becomes a punishment | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Accepting the problem faced by litigants and their frustration due to protracted hearing and delay in justice delivery, CJI D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said the process itself sometimes becomes a punishment which is a matter of grave concern.
Speaking at the conclusion of a week-long special Lok Adalat drive in the apex court during which more than a thousand cases were settled, the CJI said Lok Adalat brought to light cases where litigants were ready to settle the dispute despite not being given appropriate compensation because they were fed up of court proceedings and wanted to get out of the system.
“The process is the punishment. And that is a cause for concern for all of us judges. So very often we say we will not allow this matter to be settled. Because settlement reflects pre-existing inequalities in society. So as judges we try and say we will not settle it and we’ll try and get you a better outcome,” the CJI said.
He said Lok Adalat brings justice to the doorsteps of litigants and the system should be institutionalised. “I hope we will institutionalise this process of dispensing justice through Lok Adalat. It shouldn’t be that it is just a one-off initiative, which is then forgotten for the future,” he said.