The Hollow Gavel: When the Process Becomes the Punishment

The Punishing Process of Justice Delivery : The files grew heavier, but the life withered away. We are running a 21st-century nation with a 19th-century judicial clock.

The Hollow Gavel: When the Process Becomes the Punishment

By Shrikant Soman

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The recent acquittal of Harka Bahadur Karki by the Calcutta High Court is not a triumph of justice, but a stark, heartbreaking failure. For a crime that carried a mere two-year sentence, the legal battle spanned 34 years, raising fundamental questions about the sanctity of our judicial system. This article dives into the grim arithmetic of this crisis—from the 62,000 cases pending for three decades to the crippling judge vacancy rates—proving that 'the process has become the punishment.'

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There is a legal maxim that serves as the bedrock of civilized society: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” We hear it so often that it has become a cliché, stripped of its horrifying reality. But every now and then, a headline breaks the surface of our apathy and forces us to stare into the abyss of the Indian judicial backlog.

The recent acquittal of Harka Bahadur Karki by the Calcutta High Court is one such moment.

Karki was accused of a crime in 1984. He was convicted by a sessions court and sentenced to two years in jail. He appealed in 1991. It took the High Court 34 years to hear that appeal and finally acquit him.

"In our criminal justice system, the process is the punishment. From hasty indiscriminate arrests to difficulty in obtaining bail, the process leading to the prolonged incarceration of undertrials needs urgent attention."  — N.V. Ramana, Former Chief Justice of India (2022)

The tragedy here is mathematical absurdity. For a sentence of two years, the accused spent over three decades labeled a convict, out on bail but tethered to a legal system that seemed to have forgotten him. He was acquitted because, after nearly four decades, witnesses could no longer identify the assailants. Time didn’t just delay justice; it erased the evidence required to deliver it.

The Sword of Damocles

While Karki was "free" on bail during those 34 years, was he truly free?

When a man spends the prime of his life—his 30s, 40s, and 50s—waiting for a gavel to fall, he is serving a sentence of anxiety. This is what legal scholars call "The Process is the Punishment." The endless adjournments, the financial ruin of legal fees, and the social stigma of being a "convict on appeal" erode the soul just as effectively as prison bars.

A Crisis of Sanctity

You asked about the "sanctity of justice." Sanctity implies purity and inviolability. But what sanctity remains in a verdict delivered a generation too late?

 For the Accused: An acquittal after 34 years is not a victory; it is a relief that comes when the damage is already irreversible. You cannot give a man back his youth.

"The realization that the process is the punishment is the most profound indictment of the system."  — Malcolm Feeley, Legal Scholar (Author of 'The Process Is the Punishment')

 For the Victims: If Karki was innocent, the real perpetrator went free 40 years ago. If Karki was guilty, the victims received no closure because the delay destroyed the evidence. In this scenario, everyone loses.

The "Countless Others"

Karki’s story is merely a drop in a terrifying ocean. As of recent estimates, over 5 crore cases are pending across various courts in India. Thousands of undertrials languish in jails for periods longer than the maximum sentence they would face if convicted.

Frustration due to Lifetime Adjournment : We can acquit a man after 34 years, but we cannot refund his youth. Justice that arrives a generation too late is not justice; it is merely a historical footnote.

"Justice delayed is justice denied. — Legal Maxim It is also true that justice hurried is justice buried. But justice delayed for 34 years is justice destroyed.

We are operating a 19th-century judicial infrastructure in a 21st-century nation. Vacant judicial seats, archaic adjournment procedures, and a lack of digitization have turned the "temples of justice" into waiting rooms for the afterlife.

Conclusion

The acquittal of Harka Bahadur Karki should not be celebrated as a function of the legal system working; it should be mourned as a failure of the state’s duty to its citizens.

Justice must be more than just "correct"; it must be timely. When a verdict takes 34 years to arrive, it ceases to be a judgment and becomes a historical footnote. To restore the sanctity of justice, we must ensure that the clock in the courtroom runs at the same speed as the clock of human life.

"We have a situation today where we have a 19th-century judicial infrastructure trying to deal with 21st-century litigation."  — Commonly cited critique by legal reformers in India

The Grim Arithmetic of Injustice

While the story of Harka Bahadur Karki is emotional, the statistics are structural. The "sanctity of justice" is currently being crushed under a mountain of raw data.

1. The 30-Year Club

The most shocking statistic is not just the total number of cases, but their age. As of late 2024, the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) reveals a terrifying reality that directly mirrors Karki's tragedy:

  62,000+ cases in Indian High Courts have been pending for over 30 years.

  Some cases in the Calcutta and Madras High Courts date back to 1952 and 1954.

  This means there are litigants today who are fighting cases inherited from their grandfathers.

2. The Vacancy Crisis (As of Late 2025)

Why does it take 34 years to hear an appeal? Because there is often no one in the chair to hear it.

  High Court Vacancies: Across India's 25 High Courts, approximately 30-33% of judicial seats are vacant.

  Out of a sanctioned strength of roughly 1,122 judges, nearly 350-370 seats often remain empty.

  Allahabad High Court: One of the largest in the world, frequently operates with nearly 50% of its bench empty (around 80 vacancies against 160 sanctioned posts).

"A sense of confidence in the courts is essential to maintain the fabric of ordered liberty for a free people... inefficient and delay will drain even a just judgment of its value."  — Burger, C.J. (US Supreme Court)

When Process Outweighs Punishment : A 2-year sentence shouldn't take 34 years to decide. When the timeline of justice exceeds the lifespan of memory, the process itself becomes the punishment.

3. The Mountain of Pendency

If the Indian judiciary stopped accepting new cases today and only focused on clearing the backlog, it would still take decades to clear.

  Total Pending Cases: Over 5.3 crore (53 million) cases across all courts.

  Undertrials: Roughly 75% of India's prison population are undertrials—people who have not yet been found guilty of a crime but are locked up because their trials haven't finished.

"To keep a man in prison for many years without trial is to punish him without conviction. It is a mockery of the fundamental right to life and liberty."  — Supreme Court of India (Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar, 1979)

High Court Vacancy  33% - 1 in 3 judges is "missing" 

Cases > 30 Years Old = 62,000 - Justice effectively denied

Prison Population = 75% Undertrials = Punishment before conviction

Conclusion: The Culture of Adjournments

These numbers prove that Harka Bahadur Karki was not an anomaly; he was a statistical probability. Until we fill the 350+ empty chairs in our High Courts and modernize our case management, the "Sanctity of Justice" will remain a theoretical concept rather than a practical reality.

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1 Sources

Citation Type	Source Detail	Purpose
Statistical Source	National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), e-Courts Project, Government of India. (5.3 crore/62,000 cases pending data)	Provides the latest live data on case pendency across District and High Courts, including the number of cases pending over 30 years.
Statistical Analysis	Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India. (Specifically, vacancy data reports, often released quarterly.)	Source for the sanctioned strength and high percentage of judicial vacancies (33% in High Courts).
Constitutional Principle	Article 21 of the Constitution of India (Right to Protection of Life and Personal Liberty).	The foundation for the right to a speedy trial, which is violated by excessive delays.
Judicial Quote (Process)	Justice N.V. Ramana (Former Chief Justice of India), Statement on the administration of criminal justice, often quoted from legal conferences and Hindu/Indian Express reports (e.g., Lexposium 2025).	Source for the key hypothesis: "In our criminal justice system, the process is the punishment."
Judicial Precedent (Speedy Trial)	Hussainara Khatoon and Ors. v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar (1979) 1 SCC 81.	Landmark Supreme Court judgment where the right to a speedy trial was first read into the fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21.
Judicial Precedent (Right to Life)	Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978) 1 SCC 248.	Affirmed that the procedure established by law must be "just, fair, and reasonable"—a principle that delays of 34 years fundamentally violate.
Literary Quote	William Ewart Gladstone (19th Century British Prime Minister/Author).	Source for the classic legal maxim: "Justice delayed is justice denied."

2. References for Further Reading

These books and reports provide excellent academic and policy context

A. Key Academic Reports and Papers

1. "India Justice Report" (Latest Edition)

   • Source: Tata Trusts.

   • Why: Provides comprehensive, state-wise rankings and data on the capacity of the Indian justice system across judiciary, police, prisons, and legal aid. An essential tool for comparative analysis.

2. Report of the Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System

   • Source: Justice V.S. Malimath Committee (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2003).

   • Why: This influential report outlines numerous recommendations for tackling judicial delays, changing procedural laws, and improving the judge-to-population ratio.

3. "The Backlog Of Cases In The Lower Judiciary In India: Causes, Consequences And Remedies"

   • Source: Academic journal articles published in 2024/2025 (e.g., Educational Administration: Theory and Practice).

   • Why: Provides a deep dive into the specific causes (shortage of judges, procedural laws, infrastructure) and consequences of the lower court crisis, which directly feeds into the High Court backlog.

B. Books on Judicial Reform

1. Tareekh Pe Justice: Reforms for India's District Courts

   • Authors: Chitrakshi Jain & Prashant Reddy T.

   • Why: This recent book (often mentioned in legal circles) directly critiques the traditional, resource-focused debate on judicial reform and offers institutional solutions for the District Courts—the epicenter of the backlog.

2. Rethinking Judicial Reforms: Reflections on Indian Legal System

   • Author: Kaleeswaram Raj.

   • Why: A strong compilation offering reflections on the need for comprehensive, non-piecemeal judicial reforms.

3. Judicial Reforms in India: Issues and Aspects

   • Editors: Arnab Kumar Hazra, Bibek Debroy (2007).

4. Why: A foundational text that covers a broad range of issues, including Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), the role of IT, and judicial governance.

   
   

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