Societies in search of a quick fix often look for a scapegoat. In today’s India, for much of the ruling class, it is the courts which don the role. Public policy advisers are quick to paint the judiciary as obstructionist and somehow responsible for stalling India’s otherwise grandiose plans for economic prosperity.

Not for the first time, Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, pointed to the courts as the chief roadblock to the country’s development. “We effectively have somewhere between 20-25 years to become Viksit Bharat,” he said. “The judicial system and the legal ecosystem, but the judicial system in particular, is now, in my view, the single biggest hurdle to [India] becoming Viksit Bharat and growing rapidly.”

Misinformed, vague censure is no

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