MANEESH CHHIBBER: You have just released a vision document for your ministry. What are the major bottlenecks you plan to remove in the judicial system?

I have prevailed upon the PM to open additional courts. Also, we will tighten factors related to the prosecution of cases. We would like to create a separate cadre of prosecutors—the head of the prosecution must be of secretary grade so he enjoys enough autonomy. We would like to put all CBI and corruption cases on a fast track.

Corrupt people have no fear of the law and hence corruption continues and the rule of law is a casualty. We do not want that. We are also considering expediting regular murder cases and appeals. Fast track courts have begun to function, and we would like to extend them to other cases. We have civil cases where the suits have been rendered infructuous. That will have to be sorted out. Also, there are petty cases like traffic challans or accident claims that should be sorted out immediately. We want to give priority to cases pertaining to senior citizens, disabled persons, widows and victims of atrocities. Wherever such cases are pending, including at the Supreme Court, they must be put at the top of the agenda.

Another major issue is that of the government, at the Centre or in the states, becoming the prime litigant. It is totally irrelevant and unnecessary and due to a lack of accountability on the part of the officers. They do not want to take decisions and even if they do, they are evasive. One exercise I started immediately after taking over was to write to all the Central ministries and to the chief ministers asking for details of pending cases. They are all writing to me with the particulars. I am now classifying them.

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