3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Mar 31, 2026 10:24 AM IST
Stressing the need for overall development of ‘grassroot’ level judiciary including trial courts, former Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay S Oka on Monday said that neglect towards such courts should be avoided.
Justice Oka was delivering the J P Narayan lecture organised by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) at Mumbai Press Club complex, on the topic ‘bringing back the Constitution and people to judiciary’.
The former SC judge said there is a need to pay attention on what happens in trial courts and ensure fair trial to litigants.
“In our legal system, those who are entitled to bail must get it in magistrate or sessions court and they cannot be forced to spend more, engage costly lawyers in high court and Supreme Court and fight for the bail,” he said.
Justice Oka also said that once the Constitution came into force, one cannot say only Supreme Court and High Courts are constitutional courts.
“Because all these trial courts are also constitutional courts as they work under constitutional law but we keep branding them as lower courts as if lawyers appearing in the High Courts and Supreme Court are superior to lawyers appearing in trial courts,” he said.
Justice Oka also stressed the need for more trial court judges highlighting that while there was an estimation of nearly 8,000 judges across Maharashtra in 2022, the state government sanctioned only 800 judges.
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Justice Oka further said that while there is a discussion on ‘Vikasit Bharat,’ one must consider the lack of implementation of the Supreme Court directives on judge-to-population ratio.
He said that matrimonial disputes are on the rise and the family court in Bandra in Mumbai, has just seven judges.
“Litigation (matrimonial disputes) has multiplied over last 20 years. It’s a classic case of neglect of grassroot level courts,” he added.
Justice Oka also emphasised that besides filling up vacancies of judges, there was need for better infrastructure for trial courts.
“The common man, the citizens of India had great expectations from this legal system, but somehow all those expectations could not be fulfilled by our judiciary…if somebody is to say that the common man has great faith in the judiciary, it should be said by persons who are outside the system of judiciary, not the lawyers or the judges,” he said.
