The Broken Promise of Justice: Why Availing Legal Services in India is a Nightmare for Common Citizens

India’s legal system is often celebrated as one of the largest and most intricate in the world, yet for the average citizen, accessing justice remains an exhausting, expensive, and often futile endeavor. The system, plagued by inefficiency, corruption, and elitism, routinely fails those it is meant to serve. Here’s a critical look at the most common problems faced by ordinary Indians when trying to avail legal services.

1. Exorbitant Costs: Justice Only for the Rich

Legal representation in India is prohibitively expensive. A decent lawyer in a district court can charge anywhere from ₹5,000 to ₹50,000 per hearing, while senior advocates in higher courts demand lakhs for even basic appearances. For a middle-class or poor litigant, this means justice is a luxury they cannot afford.

Even if one opts for free legal aid (provided under Article 39A of the Constitution), the quality of service is abysmal. Overburdened and underpaid legal aid lawyers often lack the motivation to fight aggressively for their clients, leaving them at the mercy of an indifferent system.

2. Endless Delays: A System Designed to Procrastinate

India’s courts are drowning in backlog. As of 2024, there are over 50 million pending cases across all levels of the judiciary. A simple property dispute or motor accident claim can drag on for 10-15 years, sometimes even longer than the lifespan of the litigants themselves.

The procedural delays—adjournments, missing case files, judge transfers—make the process a never-ending nightmare. The famous "tarikh pe tarikh" (date after date) syndrome ensures that justice is not just delayed but often outright denied.

3. Complexity and Lack of Awareness

Legal procedures in India are needlessly complicated. The average citizen has no understanding of court processes, filing requirements, or even their basic rights. While the educated elite can navigate the system (or pay someone to do it for them), the poor and illiterate are left clueless, often cheated by touts and middlemen who exploit their ignorance.

Government initiatives like Tele-Law and Nyaya Mitra exist on paper but are poorly implemented, leaving millions without proper guidance.

4. Corruption: Paying for What Should Be Free

From the lower judiciary to the police and even court staff, corruption is rampant. Want your case heard faster? Pay a bribe. Need a favorable order? Grease the right palms. The legal system, instead of being a shield for the weak, has become a weapon for the powerful.

Many litigants report being forced to pay bribes just to get basic documents processed or to ensure their case isn’t "lost" in the system. For those who refuse to pay, the system moves at a glacial pace—if at all.

5. Lawyer Monopoly and Exploitation

The legal profession in India operates like a cartel. Lawyers often charge arbitrary fees, refuse to provide clear cost estimates, and sometimes abandon cases midway if the client can no longer pay. There is no regulatory body to hold advocates accountable for unethical practices.

Clients are frequently bullied into paying more than agreed, with threats of case sabotage. The Bar Council, meant to regulate lawyer conduct, is largely ineffective when it comes to protecting litigants from exploitation.

6. Police Complicity and Inefficiency

Before a case even reaches court, citizens must deal with the police—an institution notorious for its corruption and apathy. FIRs are routinely refused, investigations are shoddy or manipulated, and victims are often turned into accused. The poor, especially Dalits, Adivasis, and minorities, face the brunt of this institutional bias.

Even when cases are filed, the police often side with the powerful, ensuring that justice remains out of reach for the common man.

7. Outdated Laws and Bureaucratic Hurdles

Many of India’s laws are colonial relics, designed to suppress rather than serve. The procedural red tape ensures that even straightforward cases become labyrinths of paperwork and hearings. Reforms like the Commercial Courts Act and mediation centers have helped only a privileged few, while the masses continue to suffer under archaic systems.

Conclusion: A System That Favors the Powerful

India’s legal system is not broken—it is working exactly as designed: for the rich, the connected, and the patient. For the common citizen, it is a Kafkaesque nightmare of delays, expenses, and exploitation.

Until there is genuine judicial reform—faster trials, stricter accountability for lawyers and judges, simplified procedures, and an end to corruption—justice will remain a distant dream for millions. The question is: does the political and legal establishment even care? Or is the suffering of the common citizen just another file lost in the endless backlog?