Munmun Kaur
Published On: February 16, 2022 at 15:42 IST
Anil Gidwani, 63, a resident of Bandra, Mumbai has been on a hunger strike since January 26 with only one aim – to highlight repeated Adjournments in the Indian Judicial system and hopefully contribute to changing the pattern.
Speaking about the reason behind the strike he said that there was a Contempt Case with reference to a property matter filed against him four years ago and even though, there were only two parties involved i.e. him and the Court, then also there were repeated Adjournments and the Case is still pending.
Grabbing the people’s attention towards the bigger picture, Gidwani said that this ‘tareekh pe tareekh’ phenomenon applies to most Judicial matters where Adjournments and postponements continue for years. In some matters, the Litigants die awaiting a simple Order whereas in other Cases the Order loses its relevance.
Gidwani further said,
“There have been so many reports, research and analyses about our system calling for cases to be heard speedily. Certain cases are now being referred to fast-track courts. Yet, change must be all-encompassing”.
Gidwani who is an IIT-Bombay alumnus said that ever since he started fasting, the Police have taken him to JJ Hospital twice for a check-up, and once, he was taken to Bombay Hospital. Before resorting to hunger strike Gidwani had used other means like writing letters to different levels of the Judiciary, talking to Judges personally, filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2012 against delays in the Judiciary, although all the measures somehow failed.
Gidwani has been camping out at Azad Maidan, diagonally opposite CST station at the regular protest site, where he arrives daily at 10 am.