Thirty-six per cent of Indians paid bribes to the judiciary last year and a household on an average spent Rs 3,817 in this regard, according to an international watchdog for corruption.
The ‘Global Corruption Barometer 2006’ report, prepared by Transparency International (TI), also claimed this was a bigger amount than the bribe paid in any other sector of the country.
As many as 77 per cent of the Indian respondents described the country’s judicial system as corrupt, the report said.
“The average amount of money paid in bribes by a household in India in the past 12 months was maximum in judiciary (Rs 3,817) as compared to other sectors,” the report said.
The TI quoted a 2005 study by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) which estimated the amount paid by Indians as bribe to the judiciary at about Rs 2,630 crore.

Major profit
The Centre for Media Studies (CMS) study said a majority of the bribe money went to lawyers (61 per cent) followed by court officials (29 per cent) and middlemen (five per cent).
Transparency International, however, did not provide details of the number of people it surveyed.
“Although provisions for the independence and accountability of the judiciary exists in the Constitution, corruption is increasingly apparent,” it said.
Elaborating on the reasons for increasing corruption in the judiciary, the report said delays due to shortage of judges and complex legal procedures are making Indians take recourse to corrupt measures for getting justice. The degree of delays and corruption has led to cynicism about the justice system, it said, adding, “at the current rate, it would take another 350 years for disposal of the pending cases”.
As of February, 2006, 33,635 cases were pending in the Supreme Court, 33.41 lakh in High Courts and 2.53 crore in subordinate cases, it said.
Noting that the ratio of judges was abysmally low at 12-13 per one million people, the report said this was forcing people to pay “speedy money”.
“People seek shortcut through bribery, favours, gifts or hospitality, leading to unlawful behaviour,” it said.

‘Top echelons clean’
The report said the upper judiciary was relatively clean “though there are obviously exceptions”.
But, it said, in broader justice institutions, corruption was “systemic”.
“There is a high level of discretion in the process of paperwork during a trial and multiple points when court clerks, prosecutors and police investigators can misuse their power without discovery. “The primary causes of corruption are delays in the disposal of cases, shortage of judges and complex procedures, all of which are exacerbated by a preponderance of new laws.”

CORRUpt system
*Every household on an average spent
Rs 3, 817 to bribe the judiciary.
*nAbout 77 pc of the respondents described the judicial system as corrupt
*As of February 2006, 33, 635 cases were pending in SC.