ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS
(SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)
(a), (b) & (d): Timely disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia, include availability of adequate number of judges, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures. No time frame has been prescribed for disposal of various kinds of cases by the respective courts.
The Government is, however, fully committed to speedy disposal of cases. The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms established by the Government has adopted a coordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration through various strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure for courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, and filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court. The major achievements during the last four years under various initiatives to make the functioning of subordinate judiciary more efficient are as follows:
(i) Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs.6,623.87 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in 1993-94. Out of this, 3,179.57 crores (which are 48% of the total amount released till date) have been released to the States and UTs since April, 2014. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 18,731 as on date and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 16,539 as on date under this scheme. In addition, 2,906 court halls and 1,754 residential units are under construction. The Central Government has approved continuation of the Scheme beyond the 12th Five Year Plan period i.e. from 01.04.2017 to 31.03.2020 with an estimated additional outlay of Rs.3,320 crore.
(ii) Leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for improved justice delivery: Number of computerised District & Subordinate courts has increased from 13,672 to 16,755 registering an increase of 3,083 during 2014 to 2018. National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) provides citizens with online information about case filings, case status and electronic copies of orders and judgments from district and subordinate courts that have already been computerized. Information regarding 10.80 crore cases including more than three crore pending cases and more than 7.91 crore orders / judgments are available on this portal. eCourts services such as details of case registration, cause list, case status, daily orders & final judgments are available to litigants and advocates through eCourts web portal, Judicial Service Centres (JSC) in all computerised courts, eCourts Mobile App, email service, SMS push & pull services. eCourts Project has been consistently amongst the top 5 Mission Mode Projects of country.
(iii) Filling up of vacant positions in Supreme Court, High Courts and judicial officers in District and Subordinate Courts: As per the Constitutional framework, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate courts is the responsibility of State Governments and the High Courts concerned. In so far as recruitment of judicial officers in the States is concerned, respective High Courts do it in certain States, whereas the High Courts do it in consultation with the State Public Service Commissions in other States.
Filling up of vacancies in the Supreme Court and the High Courts is a continuous and collaborative process between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities. Initiation of proposal for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies in High Courts keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges (to the Supreme Court) and also due to increase in the strength of Judges. During May 2014 – November 2018, 25 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court; 423 new Judges were appointed and 362 Additional Judges were made Permanent in the High Courts. Sanctioned strength of Judges of High Courts has been increased from 906 in May, 2014 to 1079 currently. Sanctioned and working strength of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts has been increased as follows:
As on Sanctioned Strength Working Strength
31.12.2013 19,518 15,115
30.09.2018 22,644 17,509
Minister of Law & Justice vide letter dated 14th August, 2018 has written to the Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers of States to monitor the status of vacancies in the district and subordinate courts regularly and to ensure proper coordination with the State Public Service Commission so that the examination and the interviews are conducted in accordance with the time schedule prescribed by the Supreme Court in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case.
(iv) Reduction in Pendency through / follow up by Arrears Committees: Further, in pursuance of resolution passed in Chief Justices’ Conference held in April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in 24 High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years. Arrears Committees have been set up under District Judges too. Arrears Committee has been constituted in the Supreme Court to formulate steps to reduce pendency of cases in High Courts and District Courts.
(v) Nyaya Mitra Scheme: In order to reduce cases pending in courts for over 10 years, the Government launched the Nyaya Mitra Scheme in April 2017. Under the Scheme, retired judicial officers are engaged and designated as ‘Nyaya Mitra’ to facilitate expeditious disposal of the cases pending over 10 years. In the first Phase, 15 Nyaya Mitra have been engaged in 15 Districts of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura.
(vi) Emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR): Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018 has been enacted on 20th August, 2018 whereby mandatory pre-Institution mediation mechanism has been introduced for settlement of commercial disputes. Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 is done to expedite the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines. The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018 passed by the Lok Sabha on 10.08.2018 seeks to set up Arbitration Council of India (ACI) to inter-alia grade arbitral institutions, accredit arbitrators and impart training and award certificate in the ADR field.
(vii) Initiatives to Fast Track Special Type of Cases: The Fourteenth Finance Commission endorsed the proposal of the Government to strengthen the judicial system in States which included, inter-alia, establishing Fast Track Courts for cases of heinous crimes; cases involving senior citizens, women, children etc., and urged the State Governments to use the additional fiscal space provided in the form of enhanced tax devolution form 32% to 42% to meet such requirements. At present, 708 such Fast Track Courts are functioning across the country. To fast track criminal cases involving elected MPs / MLAs, twelve (12) Special Courts have been set up in eleven (11) States (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and NCT of Delhi) and proportionate funds have been released to these States by the Government. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 to amend the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offices Act, 2012 has been enacted on 11th August, 2018.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide Judgement dated 16.10.2015 struck down the Constitution (Ninety- ninth Amendment ) Act, 2014 and the National Judicial Appointment Commission, Act, 2014 as “unconstitutional and void” and declared the system of appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts as existing prior to the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 i.e. the “Collegium System” will remain operative.
(c): The details of number of cases pending in the Supreme Court during last two years and the current year is given below:
Court Year Number of Cases pending
Supreme Court 2016 62,537
2017 55,588
As on 01.12.2018 56,994
State-wise / year-wise details of cases pending in various District and Subordinate Courts during the last two years and the current year are given in a Statement at Annexure – I. High Court-wise / year-wise details of cases pending in various High Courts during the last two years and the current year are given at Annexure – II.
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Annexure - I
Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2509 for reply on 26.12.2018
Sl. No Name of States/UTs Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2016$ Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2017$$ Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 20.12.2018$$
1. A & N Island 8,767 11,185 0
2. Andhra Pradesh 10,77,944 4,99,246 5,22,776
3. Telangana 4,16,164 5,16,297
4. Arunachal Pradesh 14,583 --- 0
5. Assam 2,58,639 2,23,954 2,85,390
6. Bihar 21,28,325 16,58,292 24,68,897
7. Chandigarh 38,907 38,628 43,288
8. Chhattisgarh 2,90,434 2,72,888 2,59,949
9. D & N Haveli 3,766 3,552 2,717
10. Daman & Diu 1,720 1,746 1,859
11. Delhi 6,06,181 6,07,036 7,19,078
12. Goa 42,074 39,745 44,105
13. Gujarat 18,22,311 16,41,355 16,23,470
14. Haryana 5,47,736 6,45,647 7,24,636
15. Himachal Pradesh 2,06,941 2,09,938 2,57,784
16. Jammu & Kashmir 1,45,999 1,21,754 1,59,065
17. Jharkhand 3,42,768 3,33,494 3,54,629
18. Karnataka 13,62,167 13,81,438 12,82,800
19. Kerala 14,82,667 11,52,056 11,67,809
20. Lakshadweep 357 --- 0
21. Madhya Pradesh 10,97,634 13,25,053 13,80,822
22. Maharashtra 32,39,540 33,36,574 35,59,170
23. Manipur 6,978 9,604 9,939
24. Meghalaya 15,239 7,032 6,728
25. Mizoram 4,665 3,306 3,646
26. Nagaland 4,450 --- 0
27. Odisha 10,49,325 10,22,635 11,30,261
28. Punjab 5,04,320 5,68,232 5,99,240
29. Rajasthan 11,48,704 14,24,560 15,14,581
30. Sikkim 1,434 1,400 1,316
31. Tamil Nadu 10,99,521 10,10,381 10,96,937
32. Puducherry --- 0
33. Tripura 43,568 25,191 23,301
34. Uttar Pradesh 59,80,071 61,61,822 70,06,224
35. Uttarakhand 1,90,948 2,10,587 2,37,781
36. West Bengal 27,28,753 17,59,635 22,07,120
Total 2,74,97,436
2,61,24,130
2,92,11,615
Year-wise (for last three years) and State-wise pending cases in District and Subordinate Courts
$ Source: High Courts
$$ Source: NJDG Web portal.
Note: Data on District and Subordinate Courts in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry are not available on the web-portal of NJDG. Data in respect of Andaman & Nicobar Islands as on 20.12.2018 is not available on NJDG Portal.
Annexure - II
Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2509 for reply on 26.12.2018
Details of Year-wise and High Court-wise pending cases
Sl. No High Court As on 31.12.2016* As on 31.12.2017** As on 21.12.2018**
1. Allahabad 9,16,046 $ 7,24,726
2. Punjab & Haryana 3,02,313 3,84,098 3,93,953
3. Madras 2,97,617 3,14,345 3,98,997
4. Madhya Pradesh 2,89,445 3,07,384 3,30,554
5. Andhra Pradesh 2,91,761 3,25,119 3,60,574
6. Bombay 2,61,649 4,64,074 4,64,074
7. Rajasthan 2,54,131 2,63,103 7,41,193
8. Karnataka 2,77,620 2,11,110 2,36,161
9. Calcutta 2,19,064 2,32,116 2,43,456
10. Orissa 1,68,003 1,68,375 1,67,072
11. Kerala 1,66,735 1,81,114 1,93,371
12. Patna 1,34,459 1,45,056 1,49,920
13. Gujarat 75,098 1,09,709 1,13,511
14. Jharkhand 85,757 57,944 87,997
15. Delhi 67,082 69,546 74,252
16. Jammu & Kashmir 59,404 $ 91,994
17. Chhattisgarh 55,642 59,463 63,359
18. Uttarakhand 32,004 36,910 55,751
19. Himachal Pradesh 25,147 37,955 36,066
20. Gauhati 29,469 39,191 40,457
21. Manipur 3,286 16,889 7,308
22. Tripura 2,545 2,798 2,964
23. Meghalaya 700 951 1,069
24. Sikkim 170 212 254
Total 40,15,147
34,27,462
49,79,033
*As per information furnished by High Courts
**As per data available on the web-portal (National Judicial Data Grid)
$Data as on 31.12.2017 was not available on National Judicial Data Grid.
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