(a) whether a large number of cases with financial implication / nature are pending with the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the number of such pending cases with the Supreme Court and the High Courts by the end of November, 2018, court-wise; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government for early disposal of these cases?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS
(SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)
(a) & (b) : There are many category of cases with financial implications. As per data available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), as on 27th December, 2018, civil cases constitute 24.39 lakh cases, criminal cases constitute 13.29 lakh cases and writ cases constitute 12.14 lakh cases out of the total 49.82 lakh cases pending in various High Courts. Details of High Court-wise pending cases are given in a Statement at Annexure. Further, as far as Supreme Court is concerned, civil cases constitute 46,860 cases and criminal cases constitute 10,134 cases out of the total 56,994 cases pending in Supreme Court. However, NJDG does not separately provide the number of pending cases with financial implication.
( c ): The pendency of cases in various courts in the country is dependent 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 judiciary more efficient are as follows:
(i) 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.
(ii) 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.
From 01.01.2014 to 26.12.2018, 27 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 446 new Judges were appointed and 379 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
(iii) Reduction in Pendency through / follow up by Arrears Committees: 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.
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Annexure
Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3496 for reply on 02nd January, 2019 regarding Financial Cases Pending in Courts
Number of cases pending in High Courts as on 27.12.2018
Sr. No. High Court Name Cases pending in High Courts
1. Allahabad High Court 725143
2. Calcutta High Court 243661
3. Gauhati High Court 40448
4. High Court of Bombay 464074
5. High Court of Chhattisgarh 63574
6. High Court of Delhi 73879
7. High Court of Gujarat 113746
8. High Court of Himachal Pradesh 36117
9. High Court of Jammu and Kashmir 91626
10. High Court of Jharkhand 88931
11. High Court of Judicature At Hyderabad 361010
12. High Court of Karnataka 236697
13. High Court of Kerala 193329
14. High Court of Madhya Pradesh 331300
15. High Court of Manipur 7121
16. High Court of Meghalaya 1063
17. High Court of Punjab And Haryana 393953
18. High Court of Rajasthan 741358
19. High Court of Sikkim 255
20. High Court of Tripura 2985
21. High Court of Uttarakhand 55812
22. Madras High Court 399234
23. Orissa High Court 167277
24. Patna High Court 150643
Total 4983236