Courts maybe special, but what about results?

The government will set up 12 special courts to try 1,581 criminal charges against elected politicians in India. Apparently each judge is dealing with 4,000 cases in lower courts so the Supreme court advised setting up of special courts last month. Sadly, we Indians find it hard to believe that much will be accomplished. Firstly, India has over 16,000 judges and we need at least 25,000 to clear all pending cases. The Law Commission recommended around 65,000 based on the number of judges as per population in the US. If some of the existing judges are appointed to the special courts there will be fewer for routine work and the list of pending cases will grow. Secondly, convicted politicians will go on appealing, stretching cases for years, witnesses will be coerced and evidence could disappear in mysterious fires. Recently a judge of a CBI court was described as a "math teacher" and "film director" by the Allahabad High Court, while overturning his guilty verdict. Aarushi and Hemraj are still waiting to know who killed them. Courts can only act on evidence presented to them. Our premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, had a success rate of 66.8% in 2016 said the government. It did not cover itself in glory in 2 cases of extradition in London and in his testimony in the Vijay Mallya extradition case, Prof L Saez cast doubts on the honesty of Special Director of the CBI, R Asthana. Ottavio Quattrocchi, of Bofors fame, always seemed to slip through the fingers of the CBI at the last moment, although CBI officials had a party costing Rs 2.5 billion chasing him through all the fleshpots of the world. After 3 years Delhi Police still hope to find clues in the hotel room where Sunanda Pushkar was murdered. About 75% of people in India do not report crimes to the police because they are discouraged. Police are under control of state governments and are understaffed, probably deliberately so. Most officers work for over 8 hours per day and it must be totally frustrating to see criminals freely roaming around because cases drag on forever. Why work hard if there is no result? Most people will also try to avoid lawyers because of the cost and a lack of trust. No wonder 45% of Indians admit to paying a bribe in the last one year. The last month has seen stormy scenes in the Supreme Court, with the Chief Justice being accused of conflict of interest. About 34% of members of the present Lok Sabha face serious criminal charges and they will surely do everything to scupper any effort to put them away. Political parties like criminals because they have the money and goons necessary to get elected, wrote an editorial in the Mint. Special courts are purely window dressing. Just for show.