India, Sept. 12 -- The Orissa high court has slammed the state government for allowing a five-decade forest lease dispute to drag on without resolution even after a binding Supreme Court order, calling delayed justice the "egregious form of human rights violation".

"When a citizen wins a legal battle, [the] state should rejoice it. That spirit is not seen nowadays. At times, state functionaries take [an] ego trip. That drives the citizens to think [ that the] state is their first enemy. This does not... [augur] well for the good governance. Orders/decrees of courts, more particularly of the highest court of the country, cannot go unimplemented by the judgment debtors with impunity," the high court said.

It added that the orders ought to...