(a) whether the Government proposes to fix any time limit for disposal of criminal and civil cases in various courts in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to set up any commission or committee for judicial reforms and speedy disposal of pending court cases; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE
(SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (d) : Disposal of Criminal and Civil cases in Courts is within the domain of the judiciary. The actual time taken for disposal of a case depends on several factors such as category of the case (civil or criminal), complexity of the facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake-holders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants besides the availability of physical infrastructure, supporting court staff and applicable rules and procedures. As such, it is not practicable to fix mandatory time limits for all categories of cases.
In 2011, the Supreme Court in Ramrameshwari Devi versus Nirmala Devi case has, inter-alia, observed that at the time of filing of the plaint, the trial court should prepare complete schedule and fix dates for all the stages of the suit, right from filing of the written statement till pronouncement of judgment and the courts should strictly adhere to the said dates and the said time table as far as possible.
Government has set up a National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms with the twin objectives of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities. The Mission has been pursuing a co-ordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.