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The Supreme Court has strongly reprimanded the Central Government in a very serious matter regarding the country’s justice system and ease of doing business. The Supreme Court has expressed deep displeasure over the excessive and unnecessary delays in implementing arbitration and award awards. The bench led by the Chief Justice said in strong words during the hearing that if the system continues to be sluggish and decisions are not implemented on time, then India’s image at the international level will take a big blow and no foreign or domestic investor will trust the country’s system. The court bluntly warned the government and even said that the government machinery and policies have proved to be a complete failure in this matter.
Amidst the government’s claims of establishing India as a global investment destination, this comment of the Supreme Court is enough to expose the administrative machinery. A case was being heard before the court, where the decisions and awards given by the Arbitration Tribunal years ago have not been implemented till date. Hurt by this long legal tussle and the red-tapism attitude of the bureaucracy, the apex court took the government to task. The Court said that unless prompt and timely implementation of arbitration awards is ensured, the rule of law has no real meaning.
The Supreme Court, while making very strong remarks during the hearing, said that foreign investors or corporate houses will come forward for resolution of their business disputes in India only when they have confidence that the arbitration awards will be implemented fairly and timely. If people have to make rounds of courts for decades to get court orders or arbitration award decisions implemented, then the claim of ‘ease of doing business’ in the country will prove to be merely on paper. The court made it clear that winning the confidence of investors should be the priority of the government, but government policies and mechanisms have completely failed on this front.
The Court also expressed concern that many departments of the Central and State Governments themselves repeatedly file appeals against arbitration awards or deliberately keep cases pending. Due to this unwanted litigation, there is a huge burden on the government exchequer and the culture of adjournment is promoted in the courts. The Supreme Court has sought a response from the government and said that to improve this system, a concrete, transparent and time-bound action plan should be prepared with immediate effect, so that the arbitrary delay in implementing the arbitration decisions can be curbed forever.
This strong rebuke of the Supreme Court is a big message towards administrative reforms and accountability of the judiciary. For the economic development of the country and speedy settlement of commercial disputes, it is extremely important that the provisions of the Arbitration Act are strictly followed. If the government does not take concrete steps in this direction in time, then the judicial and economic credibility of the country is sure to be adversely affected. Now it remains to be seen whether and how quickly the Central Government takes effective steps to fix this system after this strict stance of the Supreme Court.