Justice Oka compared the situation in Maharashtra with Karnataka, saying, “It is very very different in Karnataka. There whatever the judiciary asks, the government gives. The scenario in Maharashtra is very different.”
Mumbai: Supreme Court Judge Abhay Oka has strongly criticized the Maharashtra government for not providing basic infrastructure to the judiciary. He pointed out that the situation in neighboring Karnataka is very different.
Justice Oka, who was earlier a judge in the Bombay High Court and later the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court before being elevated to the Supreme Court, made these remarks at the Ashok Desai Memorial Lecture.
The topic of his lecture was “What ails our criminal justice system – some thoughts.”
During his speech, Justice Oka emphasized that the Maharashtra government has not been supportive in providing infrastructure to the judiciary.
“We struggle to get infrastructure from Maharashtra government. We lack basic infrastructure. It is very very difficult to get infrastructure from Maharashtra government,” he said.
He further revealed that in Pune, civil court judges do not even have separate chambers.
However, he noted that there has been some improvement in the last five years.
Justice Oka compared the situation in Maharashtra with Karnataka, saying, “It is very very different in Karnataka. There whatever the judiciary asks, the government gives. The scenario in Maharashtra is very different.”
To highlight the contrast, he mentioned the Kalaburagi bench of Karnataka High Court, saying, “Kalaburagi bench of Karnataka HC looks like a five-star hotel.”
Justice Oka expressed concern about the many problems in the criminal justice system, saying it has not met the expectations of common people.
Speaking about capital punishment, he said he was personally against it and called for a broader debate involving all stakeholders.
“We really need to introspect if our system needs capital punishment. It is a debate whether the State can take someone’s life. We need to see if capital punishment is a deterrent,” he said.
Justice Oka stressed that bail should be the norm and jail should be an exception.
He referred to Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and clarified that it is not mandatory for the police to arrest every accused even if the crime carries a punishment of more than seven years.
“Presence of accused for investigation can be secured by issuing summons. But the ground level reality is very different. There is lot of pressure exerted on police machinery by citizens, NGOs, political leaders and media. Political leaders make statements that they will ensure the accused is arrested and put behind bars,” he said.
He criticized society’s mindset, saying, “This is the sad reflection of the retributive tendency which still exists in our society. People still believe that once a person is arrested, he is guilty.”
Justice Oka also spoke against the growing trend of social media trials.
“Every citizen has right to criticise judgements. But it has to be constructive criticism. But this media trial or trial on social media platforms is not correct. People lack basic elementary knowledge of our criminal justice system. They do not know the difference between bail and acquittal. As judges we cannot go by perceptions – what people say, what social media says. We have to go by evidence,” he asserted.
Justice Oka pointed out that courts earlier used to grant bail without much discussion on the case’s merits. However, due to stricter laws like UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), and NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act), judges now have to examine the case details before deciding on bail.
“Courts burdened with these cases are not able to hear regular bail matters. If you see very old cases, the HC used to just say bail granted. And no one used to say anything. But nowadays, the high courts and the Supreme Court have to do very tightrope walking,”
he said.
He explained the challenges judges face, saying, “We need to go into details. Sometimes we say why so much details, sometimes we say why such short cryptic orders. Judges face criticism for not giving bail to people in some cases.”
Justice Oka highlighted how the judiciary becomes overloaded when the police fail to address the grievances of common citizens.
“A common man approaches the court when police does not lodge his complaint and also when he or she feels that the probe is not being done properly,” he said.
He suggested that there should be a proper grievance mechanism for complainants and victims who are dissatisfied with the police investigation.
Justice Revati Mohite Dere of the Bombay High Court, who also spoke at the event, highlighted that India’s judge-to-population ratio is very imbalanced.
She pointed out key challenges in the criminal justice system, such as delays in trials, overburdened courts, and overcrowded jails.
Justice Mohite Dere also emphasized the need for a stronger witness protection scheme to ensure that witnesses feel safe while testifying in cases.
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