Question : Pending Court Cases

(a) the number of cases pending in various courts of Assam including subordinate courts and the reasons for pendency;
(b) whether poor infrastructure is one of the main reasons and if so, the details thereof along with the efforts made by the Government to improve the infrastructure of subordinate courts in the State; and
(c) the details of the measures proposed to be initiated by the Government to speed up disposal of cases in subordinate courts in the country including Assam?

Answer given by the minister

ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a): As per information available on the National Judicial Data Grid, as on 05.12.2019, there are 2,92,224 cases pending in the District and Subordinate Courts in the State of Assam. The district-wise number of cases pending in the State of Assam is given in the Annexure.
As regards reasons for pendency of cases in courts, 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 to monitor, track and bunch cases for hearing.

(b): It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to provide judicial infrastructure including court halls and residential units for High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts. To supplement these efforts, the Union Government is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary by providing financial assistance to State Governments / UTs in the prescribed fund sharing pattern between Centre and States. The Scheme is being implemented since 1993-94. It covers the construction of court halls and court complexes and residential accommodations for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Judiciary. In the case of Assam, a sum of Rs.201.34 crore has been sanctioned till 05.12.2019 since the inception of the Scheme, out of which Rs.83.63 crore has been sanctioned since 2014-15 (which is around 42% of the total release under the Scheme). During the current financial year 2019-20, a sum of Rs. 31.54 crore has been sanctioned to the State of Assam. Under this scheme, in the State of Assam, 371 court halls and 294 residential units have been made available for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts as on 05.12.2019 against the working strength of 412 Judicial Officers. In addition, 67 court halls and 31 residential units are under construction in the State of Assam.

(c) The Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases. The Union 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 has adopted a coordinated approach to effect for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency at various levels of judicial administration through many strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure [court halls and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District, High Court and Supreme Court level, emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases. In addition, all stakeholders including Judicial Officers can access information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of computerized District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). Currently litigants can access case status information in respect of over 12.23 crore pending and disposed cases and more than 10.26 crore orders / judgments pertaining to these computerized courts from NJDG. Also, pending cases are considered and disposed in Lok Adalats conducted under National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). 172.60 lakh pending cases have been settled in National Lok Adalat from 2015 till date while 88.40 lakh pending cases have been settled in Regular Lok Adalats during 2015-16 to June, 2019.


Annexure
District-wise Number of Cases Pending in District and Subordinate Courts of Assam (As on 05.12.2019)
S. No. State Number of cases
1. Baksa 2793
2. Barpeta 15922
3. Bongaigaon 6097
4. Cachar 21587
5. Chirang 2098
6. Darrang 11265
7. Dhemaji 1848
8. Dhubri 18332
9. Dibrugarh 12490
10. Dima Hasao 1299
11. Goalpara 9043
12. Golaghat 6962
13. Hailakandi 11350
14. Jorhat 7531
15. Kamrup 10780
16. Kamrup Metro 50740
17. Karbi Anglong 2791
18. Karimganj 10174
19. Kokrajhar 3348
20. Lakhimpur 7752
21. Morigaon 10846
22. Nagaon 32535
23. Nalbari 7098
24. Sivasagar 4743
25. Sonitpur 12792
26. Tinsukia 8790
27. Udalguri 1218
Total 292224

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