Parisa Praneetha, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
Introduction
The first Law Commission of India, in its 14th report discussed about the reforms in the administration of justice and sent its recommendations to the Ministry of Law on 26th September, 1958. The chairman of the law commission, Shri M.C. Setalvad did a stupendous job in conducting the research and putting up this report that consists of 2 bulky volumes of 1282 pages in total. The commission published a questionnaire comprising of 193 questions and studied the present judicial system with the help of 500 witnesses to provide suitable recommendations and comments.
Volume I deals with the civil jurisdictions and related matter from the lowest to the apex court courts. It discusses the supervision, adequacy, delays, strength, procedures etc. for the civil matters in India. Volume II deals with criminal judicial administration and the aspects related to it. The report shows that the commission has examined the pro and cons of each and every questions that is put forth in the report and the solutions of these issues have been drafted with care and consideration to all sections and classes of individuals in the judicial administration system such as the judges, litigators, affected parties, workers, etc.
Towards the end of the report, there are 2 appendices containing the notes and comments of Mr. V.K.T. Chari, Advocate-General, Madras and Dr N.C. Sen Gupta, Advocate, Calcutta. The 14th report is considered to be the most important and reformative report since independence till the year it was published due to the large number of recommendations and the major impact that these recommendations have had on the judicial system.
The report is divided into 57 parts, each being pivotal for the reform in the judicial administration. Due to space considerations, this study won’t analyse all the 57 parts, but only the major ones. The substantive focus of this study is to critically understand the lacunas that existed at the time of independence and how this law commission report served to curb these lacunas. Justice is the foundation of the Indian legal system and hence, its administration shall thrive to be full proof.
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