Maharashtra, Goa top in justice delivery; Bihar, UP worst performers

Maharashtra topped the list of India''s first-ever ranking of states on justice delivery among the 18 large and mid-sized states.

Maharashtra is followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu, while among the small states Goa topped the list followed by Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, according to the India Justice Report (IJR) prepared by Tata Trusts in collaboration with Centre for social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Daksh, TISS-Prayas and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

As many as 29 states and 7 union territories’ performance has been assessed, and it has been pointed out that justice delivery not only includes courts, but it also includes prisons, police as well as legal aid and factors such as budget, infrastructure, diversity, personnel and work load.

On the bottom end, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the worst performers.

One aspect that the Trust clearly points out is that relatively better  performance cannot be seen as a pat on the back, as even the best performing states have fared very poorly on many indices. The report should be taken as an indication of the lapses that need to be covered, it noted.