Q. An independent and empowered social audit mechanism is an absolute must in every sphere of public service, including judiciary, to ensure performance, accountability and ethical conduct. Elaborate.

Model Answer: 

Social audit evaluates policy implementation through citizen participation, acting as a democratic watchdog to enforce transparency, performance, and ethical public service.

1. Significance of Social Audits in Public Service

• Curbing Corruption: Plugs resource leakages and enforces strict financial integrity (MGNREGA SSAAT Telangana model).
• Fixing Accountability: Bridges the principal-agent gap, making administrators directly answerable to beneficiaries (2nd ARC).
• Institutional Empowerment: Transitions governance from secrecy to transparency, institutionalizing civic participation (Meghalaya Social Audit Act 2017).
• Ethical Conduct: Deters maladministration by exposing procedural bypasses, favoritism, and systemic apathy.

2. Need and Scope in the Judiciary

• Performance Tracking: Auditing administrative functions highlights procedural bottlenecks to tackle severe case pendency (National Judicial Data Grid).
• Ethical Governance: Enforces judicial accountability without infringing on core judicial independence (Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct).
• Grassroots Transparency: Monitors litigant-facing services, registry operations, and infrastructure utilization at lower courts.
• Financial Scrutiny: Evaluates the effective utilization of funds allocated for judicial modernization (e-Courts project).

Extending empowered social audits across all democratic pillars creates a “glasshouse” of accountability, which is indispensable for realizing the vision of citizen-centric governance.