Long Delays, Burdened Courts: Need for Negotiated Justice”

“Long Delays, Burdened Courts: Need for Negotiated Justice”

India’s criminal justice system is facing a severe crisis of pendency and delay, with over 5 crore cases pending across courts, including nearly 3 crore in subordinate courts. Despite constitutional guarantees of speedy justice under Article 21, systemic inefficiencies—procedural complexity, shortage of judges, and adversarial litigation culture—have resulted in prolonged trials, undermining public confidence.

The article highlights plea bargaining as a potential solution to reduce backlog and expedite justice delivery. While globally, plea bargaining is widely used—accounting for over 90% of criminal cases in the United States—its adoption in India remains minimal, despite being formally introduced through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2005. Cultural resistance, lack of awareness, and concerns over coercion and fairness have limited its effectiveness.