Cases over food, recitals, social media comments ridiculous, says Justice Bhuyan

Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan criticized the increasing number of frivolous criminal cases filed over minor issues such as food consumption, poetry recitals, social media comments, and film/book titles. At an event in New Delhi, he stated that such cases are ridiculous and often border on an affront to one's intelligence.

However, these cases continue to be registered and some even lead to trials, despite the outcome being anticipated. Bhuyan highlighted that these frivolous lawsuits are contributing to an already overloaded criminal justice system. He cited statistics from the National Judicial Data Grid, revealing that over 4.27 crore criminal cases are pending across Indian courts, with trial courts handling 95% of the backlog.

To address this issue, Bhuyan proposed a one-time amnesty for non-serious criminal cases, urging trial courts to focus on urgent matters. He also expressed concern over custodial violence and extrajudicial killings, calling for a reassessment of the belief that these issues have significantly decreased after judicial interventions.

Bhuyan urged police officers to refrain from personal involvement in confrontations with protesters and stressed the importance of prosecutors making independent decisions, rather than succumbing to executive direction. He emphasized that public confidence in the justice system relies on fairness, with convictions trusted if obtained honestly and acquittals upheld if argued justly.