Maharashtra tops list in delivering justice to citizens, Goa among smaller states

Maharashtra is the top state in delivering justice to its citizens, according to the India Justice Report by Tata Trusts. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana are some of the top states that fared well in delivering justice to its citizens.

The India Justice Report is a quantitative analysis of the four pillars of justice - judiciary, police, prisons and legal aid. They are being quantitatively studied on the basis of budgetary allocation, human resources, workload, diversity, infrastructure and trends using only government data.

The report presents a state wide picture of each pillar, in two separate clusters of states divided as per population.

Among the seven small states, Goa topped the list, followed by Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh.

On an average, except Delhi, every other state and union territory spends less than 1 percent of its budget on judiciary. The per capita expenditure among large and mid sized states varies between Rs 52 and Rs 201. The expenditure ranges between Rs 78 and Rs 464, indicating that smaller states are more willing to spend on judiciary.

The report also states that judicial delays cost the country about 0.5 percent of GDP annually. While the number of court rooms is sufficient for the current working strength of judges, there is an 18 percent deficit when compared with the sanctioned strength.

The data also affirms the existence of a glass ceiling where most women tend to be clustered among the lower ranks. Nationally, the share of women judges falls from 28 percent in subordinate courts to 11 percent in high courts.

The report suggests improving transparency across the judicial system by ensuring publication of verified, disaggregated, accurate and timely data for policymaking.