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Bhubaneswar: For the beleaguered Naveen Patnaik government, when to get justice Aam admi have taken the recourse to self immolation bid before the Odisha Assembly, the release of India Justice Report 2020 on Thursday has come in as a double whammy.
The shocker is Odisha has tumbled down 4-ranks to languish at 11th among the 18 major and mid-size states in the significant indicator of justice delivery to the common man.
As per the India Justice Report 2020, Odisha was at 7th in the year 2019. The State recorded a deceleration in 2020 to 11th position.
The fall of Odisha from the pride of top-10 is not limited to a year alone. The IJR 2020, which has ranked states on the Justice delivery intention, has recorded the fall of the State from 8th in 2019 to 11th in 2020.
Why The Fall Is Worrying?
It's so because, the report has ranked the states based on the 5-year data for 23 indicators across police, prison and judiciary. The implication here is there has been no concerted efforts made by the State government to improve the justice delivery mechanism to the common man in the State. The Ranking Intention simply has measured that lack of efforts.
And the consequence on ground is State saw a series of self immolation bids - from Nayagarh minor girl Pari's parents to humble farmers. Many still sit in protest to get justice, for instance, the parents of another missing minor girl from Jajpur.
How IJR Ranks States?
The IJR ranks states on the basis of three pillars - Police, Prisons, Judiciary and Legal Aid. It has found Odisha very pitiable in the pillars of Judiciary and Legal Aid. The report is prepared by reputed institutes like Tata Trusts, Centre for Social Justice (IDEAL), Common Cause, DAKSH, The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
(CHRI) and Prayas etc.
While the State has finished fifth from the bottom in the pillar of Judiciary, it was ranked at 8th position in the pillar of Legal aid.
Sample this. In Odisha, a legal service clinic serviced, on average, as high as 302 villages. The State finished at 2nd from the bottom.
The Effect: Odisha records a high rate of crime in murder, as per NCRB report 2019. The major motive behind murders in the State had been personal rivalry. And Odisha police records show that land/property disputes have been the major trigger factor behind personal rivalry.
"Land disputes are civil cases. But these cases are becoming a trigger factor for the violent crime cases look very grave. Legal Clinics can play a major role in bringing an amicable resolution in such Civil cases," explained senior advocate Nishikant Mahapatra.
OTHER THUMBDOWNS
*In Odisha, the increase in spending on these pillars of justice is not keeping pace with the increase in the size of the overall state expenditure.
Consider this - The average 5-year increase in Odisha's spending on judiciary has exhibited a difference of -3.35 percentage points, which means while the State government has increased overall spending during the period of 2014-18, comparably, Odisha has failed to do so in its expenditure on judiciary.
Note: expenditure on judiciary basically pertains to increasing the human resources at the subordinate courts in the State where the pendency of cases have been very high.
The Consequence: Odisha get a low score in ease of doing business for high pendency in lower courts.
* When CM Naveen Patnaik has recently called for ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, the reality check by IJR 2020 is at the current rate of intake, Odisha will take a massive 82 years to achieve the 33 per cent reservation for women in State Police.
