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Backlog of cases in courts is a hackneyed issue that predictably gets mentioned in almost all discussions on the status of justice delivery in the country. Though the judiciary is often blamed for the malaise, the real culprit for delays may be the lack of financial autonomy, as one of the essays included in Judicial Reforms in India, edited by Arnab Kumar Hazra and Bibek Debroy ( www.academicfoun dation.com ) points out.

Not much attention has been paid by the government for improvement of the infrastructure of the judiciary, writes Justice G. C. Bharuka in a chapter on ‘contemporary views on access to justice’. He laments the dearth of courts, judges and buildings, and the absence of even minimum facilities. “There is no planning and proper budgeting for the court’s requirements in consultation with the judiciary, as is done in other countries, nor is there a long range plan.”

He cites the view of former Chief Justice Mr A. S. Anand — that some of the ills afflicting the administration of justice can be cured if financial autonomy is granted.

Take, for instance, the subordinate judiciary at the district level, on which rests the edifice of judiciary, and which caters to the majority of litigants. “The High Courts have power of superintendence over the state judiciary, but they do not have any financial power to create even one post of a subordinate judge or subordinate staff, acquire or purchase any land or building for courts, decide and implement any plan for modernisation of court working.”

Financial powers have to be transferred from the executive to the judiciary, argues the author, because the absence of financial autonomy has a disturbing dimension, as follows: “Financial dependence on the executive, to an extent, impinges upon the independence of the judiciary when it is required to ‘negotiate’ every time with the largest litigant — the State.”

Merits an urgent read.

Not unusually, accountants launch into professional practice with chums as partners. As if to cheer you towards embarking on such a friendly firm, many reassuring examples may come in view. But wait. “There are certainly a lot of horror stories about friendships that dissolved because the close or best friends go into business together only to have the friendship end even as the business succeeded (or vice versa),” cautions Jan Yager in Who’s That Sitting At My Desk? ( www.jaicobooks.com ).

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