Introduction
The term justice refers to acting in a ‘just and fair’ way. During trial in courts, Judges all over are addressed as ‘My Lord’. This implies the power they have to exercise for bringing justice to the needy people, which they must do. Unfortunately, people nowadays have a counterview that most things including love and respect could be purchased and thus have complete disregard for ethics or laws.
The judiciary by exercising its power could be of great help to the underprivileged section of the society, as it is an important pillar of democracy. In order to ensure better survivability of poor people, they must be provided with basic amenities. They rarely get any respect in the society and suffer a lot.
Unfortunately, the long process of justice in India makes it very difficult for them, and it is rare to get. However, those getting it consider themselves very fortunate.
Importance of Justice The ideals such as hard work and honesty in a world of receding morality may be unable to ensure prosperity of a person. The judiciary should ensure doing justice to the poor where a large section is even not aware about the injustice it goes through. They are even willing to work on lower wages and, hence, get exploited by their employers.
Many poor people go through the harassment at the hand of sarkari babus for getting their work done. Thus, unethical practices like bribe should be abolished so that such people can also live with dignity. All the segments of justice that includes social, civil, economic and political justice must be taken into consideration. Under the British rule, India suffered enough and the poor class had the belief of getting fair share in a free country. Unfortunately, the poor still remains in a baffling state as the clumsy and complex Indian social structure failed to bring any respite to them from this melancholy. A segment of the country’s population is still getting exploited at the hand of upper caste. Even though the Constitution of India has so many provisions in place to uphold their rights against any atrocities, in real terms, the objective is far from being achieved.
One of the foremost causes behind elusion of justice is the lack of information. It is ironical that the poor are not aware of numerous schemes which the government brings in for their welfare. The rural population is still detached from the rest of India undergoing tremendous digital revolution and this is one of the foremost reasons for the unawareness.
Many poor people because of not possessing any knowledge or financial power find it difficult to bail themselves out from the arrest over false accusations. Same is the situation in case of small farmers in villages who suffer at the hands of bigger landlords.
An NGO or public group can file ‘Public Interest Litigation (PIL)’ which is a vital part to preserve the rights of children, disabled person in courts and giving priority to women.
A leading example of this is ‘the Manual Scavenging Bill 2012’ that was introduced in order to ban it by law so that the poor do not have to go through such atrocities, yet many of them are still working in such detestable situation. Hence, in rural areas as well imparting education can lead to better life conditions. It is really depressing that even after being termed as one of the world’s fastest growing economies; India is still marred by issues of caste and class leading to exploitation of poor section of the society. Unfortunately, lawyers are too expensive to hire that makes it impossible for poor people to afford justice and occasionally the affluent people are able to influence the judge also who holds a respectable position in the society are appointed at a very high salary with all perks and thus it becomes all the more necessary for them to use their power to impart justice to all.
Many people have undergone the depression caused by the rampant corruption, piling of cases, and the endless time to get justice that has led to distrust in the Indian judiciary system. The maxim ‘Justice delayed is Justice denied’ cannot be truer than in a country like India. Though reservation has been of great help to a chunk of the lower class of the society, the merits of this policy is being questioned because of undue advantage taken by a large number of people in getting what they are unworthy of. Moreover, a large section of political class is using this as a tool to score political points over its opponents in terms of vote bank politics.
However, a lot of steps have been taken for the welfare of the poor over the last few years. Various schemes such as Janni Suraksha Yojna, Kanya Vidya Dhan, etc. introduced by the government and the active engagement of NGOs are helping people at the grassroots level. NGOs are also contributing to the cause by taking the responsibility of arousing awareness among the poor about their rights. All these steps taken together will be beneficial to the lower strata of the society including the rural people and would be of great help to fill the gap between them and the upper class and urban people. This equality in social and economical terms will transform India into a developed country in the days to come. Providing amenities to the poor and eradication of poverty will also act as a catalyst towards deliverance of justice to them.
Conclusion
Even though our constitution has made so many provisions to protect the interests of all the sections of the society and the Indian judiciary system possess uttermost authority and strength, development of the lower strata of the society and the poor to bring them at par with the upper segment are the only means to impart justice to the poor.