India:Some 30 million cases are pending in Indian courts, many of which will take over a decade to be decided, producing little public faith in the country's judicial processes.
According to latest statistics, some 25 million civil and criminal cases await adjudication in overcrowded magisterial and sessions courts as do another 3.7 million in 35 high courts across the country.
As a consequence, tens of thousands of pre-trial prisoners languish in overcrowded prisons across the country, the majority incarcerated for terms far longer than their sentences, if pronounced, would have required.
Leading Delhi lawyer Malavika Rajkotia-Luthra said: "A majority of Indians have lost faith in the judicial system and are either settling out of court or hiring professional muscle men to settle disputes." Many Indians hesitate to go to court for redress - but if they do, the majority end up spending a lifetime doing the rounds of courts, particularly in civil cases relating to property.
Earlier this year while disposing of a land dispute after 50 years, the Supreme Court declared the inordinate delay in adjudicating cases "had eroded faith in the judiciary", leaving people "simply disgusted".
Where the Indian justice system fails, editorialised a respected Hindu newspaper, is in terms of speed and efficiency, two attributes vital for the health and credibility of any justice delivery system and any liberal democratic order, it added.
Judicial officers concede Indian judges are overworked, the infrastructure shabby and the judicial system "creaking", especially in subordinate courts. Understaffing remained the principal cause for this delay.
Of 792 posts of judges sanctioned for high courts, 206 were vacant; in the lower courts, of 15,399 judges' posts 3,031 were vacant, due entirely to government vacillation and indecision.
Overall, India has fewer than 15 judges per million people, a figure that compared poorly with other democracies. Canada, for instance, has 75 judges for every million, while the US has 104 judges for the same number.
Indian judges were also poorly paid, leading to charges of widespread corruption reported frequently in the media.
Monthly salaries for junior judges and magistrates begin at Rs9,000 (€158) per month, going up to a mere Rs35,000 for the chief justice of India, the country's most senior legal officer.
"If the best legal talent doesn't want to join the judiciary, it's hardly surprising. And if there's corruption in the courts, it is not surprising either," said a leading lawyer, declining to be named for fear of reprisals.
Legal activists said hundreds of antiquated laws dating back to British colonial rule needed to be changed. The Indian Penal Code of 1860, for example, considers homosexuality, together with certain other heterosexual acts, "unnatural" and punishable with imprisonment.
Gay rights activists recently launched a nationwide signature campaign to repeal the 150-year old British colonial law that considers homosexuality a crime punishable with a 14-year sentence and fines. They said this law was regressive, perpetuated homophobia and provided policemen with a "weapon" to blackmail and sexually abuse gays who surreptitiously indulge their sexual preferences.