Daijiworld Media Network -   Bengaluru (SHP) 

Bengaluru, Aug 2: Karnataka has secured the 15th spot out of courthouses of 28 states surveyed across the country for quality of courthouses. A year-long study was conducted by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, in association with Tata Trusts and Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI). 

It was observed that the state could be given only a score of 54 out of 100 when considering parameters like accessibility, navigation, waiting areas, hygiene, barrier-free access for the disabled, electronic displays to show case information, security, amenities and online information. 

Arghya Sengupta, research director at Vidhi stated that it is imperative to have a user-friendly court, as it will help all the litigants in India today to carry out civil proceedings. Out of the 29 district courts surveyed in Karnataka, during which 290 litigants were interviewed (10 for each court), it was found that the state failed miserably when it came to meeting the standards of certain parameters such as; waiting areas, ease of access for the disabled, security, and information on the court websites which are the courts are mandated to display. 

Over 28 court complexes were accessible by public transport and all of the courts had designated parking spaces. Around 61 per cent of litigants admitted to using public transport to reach the court and eight per cent said they reached court by walking. 

However, lack of information gave a severe blow to 93 per cent of litigants from proceeding to the next course of action. They claimed to wait for their cases to be heard or for their legal aides to arrive. Unfortunately, 18 out of 29 court complexes do not have facilities to accommodate litigants who are waiting their turn. 

Although 86 per cent of courts had fully operational restrooms, 47 per cent of litigants said that there was scarcity of water. Out of the courts surveyed, astonishingly only three court complexes were accessible to wheelchair-bound individuals and the courts also failed to have Braille notices. Only three courts had an e-Case display board which helps notify litigants about the status of their cases. 

The courts which scored the least were; Yadgir (37%), Hassan (34%) and courts in Chikkamagaluru districts (38%). Bengaluru scored 77%, although, an acceptable score, Alok Prasanna Kumar, a senior resident fellow at Vidhi said, courts in the city were prevalent with inefficiencies. In a second study focused on courthouses in Bengaluru (Rural), also by Vidhi, the six court complexes disposed over 1.2 lac cases over a prolonged three-year period, while still over 1.1 lac cases are pending. The average lifespan of a civil case in these courts was nearly 1,600 days or 4.3 years and criminal cases take an average of nearly 900 days to dispose.