What a 38-year-old turmeric scandal says about India's business environment

The Supreme Court ended the 38-year saga of an alleged turmeric forger, who was arrested in 1982 and, eventually, sentenced to a month in jail and a 500 rupee ($6.70) fine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eager to convince global companies and investors that India is a business-friendly alternative to China. A top court ruling this summer told another story, highlighting the infamous judicial delays that threaten to stymie businesses and scuttled deals. The Supreme Court ended the 38-year saga of an alleged turmeric forger, who was arrested in 1982 and, eventually, sentenced to a month in jail and a 500 rupee ($6.70) fine. After a decade, the top court reversed his conviction; the two lower courts took around 14 years each to render verdicts.

The lifespan of the turmeric case is extreme but not unique among the nearly 40 million cases pending across the country’s three-tiered judicial system. Among cases in 25 state high courts, roughly 173,000 have been pending for more than 20 years, and roughly half of those for more than 30, government data showed. The World Bank ranks India in the top one-third of countries for overall ease-of-doing-business, but when it comes to enforcing contracts -- a measure of legal efficiency -- the south Asian nation lands in the bottom 15 per cent, worse than Pakistan, Syria and Senegal...Read More