The MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
(a)& (b): As per information available, details of cases pending in Supreme Court of India during last three years are as given below :
Year Pendency
2018 57,346
2019 59,859
2020 63,146
As per the information/data furnished by High Courts and also information/data available on the web portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), details of High Courts wise and State/UT wise pendency of cases in District and Subordinate Courts during last three years are given in Statement at Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.A statement showing sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies of Judges in the High Courts is given at Annexure-III.
(c) to (e): Disposal of pending cases in courts is within the domain of the judiciary. There is no one single factor like Covid which can be attributed to increase in pendency of cases. Pendency of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia includes availability of adequate number of judges, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, cooperation of stake holders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures. After announcement of nation-wide lockdown from 25th March, 2020, directions have been issued from time to time by the respective High Courts to the Subordinate Courts under their administrative jurisdiction for hearing of urgent civil and criminal matters in virtual or physical mode depending on local conditions. Most High Courts have further advised district and subordinate courts that they may, as far as possible, resume normal functioning by virtual/physical mode. Wherever physical hearing has been permitted in district and subordinate courts, they have been advised to strictly adhere to Covid protocols and social distancing norms. A new Software Patch and Court User Manual has been recently developed for COVID- 19 Management. This tool has been developed to help in smart scheduling all cases to effectively manage overcrowding in courts.
Video conferencing emerged as the mainstay of the Courts during the Covid lockdown period as physical hearings and normal court proceedings in the congregational mode were not possible. Due to constraints of infrastructure and workforce as well as social distancing norms, limited number of matters could be listed for hearing as compared to normal times. The Supreme Court had framed guidelines which clarified the classes of cases which may be treated as ‘urgent’ for purposes of early hearing. Though, there is no clear definition of cases falling in the ‘urgent’ category since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, only the urgent matters which are ‘mentioned’ for early listing before the Hon’ble Court on the ground of urgency are being listed as per ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ uploaded on the website(www.sci.gov.in) from time to time. Apart from the ‘mentioned’ matters, fresh matters and specifically directed matters are also being listed. Further, where a matter does not fall under the ‘Urgent category’, it is left to the discretion of the Bench. Since Covid lockdown started, the District courts heard 45,73,159 cases while the High Court heard 20,60,318 cases (totaling to 66.33 lakh) till 31.12.2020 using video conferencing only. The Supreme Court had nearly 32,000 hearings during the lockdown period.
National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up in August, 2011 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. The major steps taken during the last five years under various initiatives are as follows:
(i) Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs. 8,288.30 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in 1993-94. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 20,062 as on 28.01.2021and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 17,736 as on 28.01.2021 under this scheme. In addition, 2,808 court halls and 1,843 residential units are under construction.
(ii) Leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for improved justice delivery: Government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project throughout the country for Information and Communication Technology enablement of district and subordinate courts. Number of computerized District & Subordinate courts has increased from 13,672 (in 2014) to 18,735 as on 28.01.2021, registering an increase of 5,063. New and user-friendly version of Case Information Software has been developed and deployed at all the computerized District and Subordinate Courts. 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). As on 01.01.2021, litigants can access case status of over 17.90 crore cases and 13.36 crore order/judgements pertaining to these courts.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 computerized courts, eCourts Mobile App, email service, SMS push & pull services. Video Conferencing facility has been enabled between 3240 court complexes and 1272 corresponding jails. With a view to handle the COVID- 19 challenges better and to make the transition to virtual hearings smoother, funds have been provided for setting up 235 e-SewaKendras at court complexes to facilitate lawyers and litigants needing assistance ranging from case status, getting judgements/orders, court/case related information and efiling facilities. Rs. 5.01 croreshas been allocated for providing equipment in Video Conferencing cabins in various court complexes to facilitate virtual hearings. Rs. 12.12 crores has been allocated for 1732 Help desk counters for efiling in various court complexes.
Nine Virtual Courts have been set up at Delhi (2 courts), Faridabad (Haryana), Pune & Nagpur (Maharashtra) Kochi (Kerala), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Guwahati (Assam) and Bengaluru (Karnataka) to try traffic offences. As on 20.01.2021, these courts have handled 41,98,095 cases and realised Rs.139.25cr in fines.
(iii) Filling up of vacant positions in Supreme Court, High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 25.01.2021, 35 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 570 new Judges were appointed and 520 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 1080 currently. Sanctioned and working strength of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts has increased as follows:
As on Sanctioned Strength Working Strength
31.12.2013 19,518 15,115
28.01.2021 24,247 19,318
Filling up of vacancies in Subordinate judiciary falls within the domain of the State Governments and High Courts concerned.
(iv) 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 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) Emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR): Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (as amended on 20th August, 2018) stipulates mandatory pre-institution mediation and settlement of commercial disputes. Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been made by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines.
(vi) 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. As on 18.01.2021, Fast Track Courts are functional for heinous crimes, crimes against women and children, family and metrimonial disputes, etc. To fast track criminal cases involving elected MPs / MLAs, ten (10) Special Courts are functional in nine (9) States/UTs (1 each in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and 2 in NCT of Delhi)and proportionate funds have been released to these States by the Government. Further, Government has approved a scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country for expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape under IPC and crimes under POCSO Act. As on date, 28 States/UTs have joined the scheme for setting up of 823 FTSCs including ‘exclusive POCSO Courts’. Rs.140 crore was released in the financial year 2019-20 and Rs. 89.89 crore has been released during the financial year 2020-21 for the scheme. Presently 609 FTSCs are functional including 331 exclusive POCSO Courts.
(vii) In addition, to reduce pendency and unclogging of the courts the Government has recently amended various laws like the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Commercial Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018.
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ANNEXURE – 1
HIGH COURTS
Total Number of Pending Cases in various High Courts in year 2018, 2019 & 2020
S.NO. Name of the High Court Total Number of
Pending Cases
1(As on 31/12/2018) Total Number of
Pending Cases
(As on 31/12/2019) Total Number of
Pending Cases
(As on 31/12/2020)
1. Allahabad 939475 944657 773408
2. Andhra Pradesh* 354833 193594 207762
3. Telangana* 206413 236852
4. Bombay 287864 305962 559119
5. Calcutta 231576 228060 267431
6. Chhattisgarh 63574 69316 75836
7. Delhi 74536 80950 91195
8. Gujarat 114962 129184 142803
9. Gauhati 33445 37243 51901
10. Meghalaya 782 757 1443
11. Manipur 3062 2468 4374
12. Tripura 2977 2586 2347
13. Himachal Pradesh 36177 54452 73862
14. Jammu & Kashmir
64042 71693 63468
15. Jharkhand 88932 85272 88445
16. Karnataka 357604 271929 293259
17. Kerala 192754 196823 214384
18. Madhya Pradesh 331388 357929 362932
19. Madras 293004 272722 580770
20. Orissa 167909 150562 172476
21. Patna 153486 172425 178835
22. Punjab & Haryana 337231 353888 637148
23. Rajasthan 285012 459828 523600
24. Sikkim 252 234 241
25. Uttarakhand 34049 35407 38676
Total 4448926 4684354 5642567
Note : The above statement is compiled on the basis of the figures received from the High Courts.
*For the period 2018, the figures are for the erstwhile High Court of Judicature are at Hyderabad for the State of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Annexure-II
Details of District & Subordinate Courts wise pendency of Cases during the last three years and current position
Sl. No Name of States/UTs 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 10.12.2018 Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 14.11.2019 Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 28.01.2021
1. A & N Island 11,185 --- 0 0
2. Andhra Pradesh 4,99,246 5,22,853 558144 645518
3. Telangana 4,16,164 5,14,425 553032 686819
4. Arunachal Pradesh --- --- --- ---
5. Assam 2,23,954 2,84,344 296205 361274
6. Bihar 16,58,292 24,39,139 2839812 3191323
7. Chandigarh 38,628 42,980 47132 59265
8. Chhattisgarh 2,72,888 2,57,782 275552 335230
9. D & N Haveli 3,552 2,465 3091 3413
10. Daman & Diu 1,746 1,758 2203 2828
11. Delhi 6,07,036 7,19,977 832229 978490
12. Goa 39,745 43,825 46462 57311
13. Gujarat 16,41,355 16,59,335 1604461 1949686
14. Haryana 6,45,647 7,21,335 852700 1126576
15. Himachal Pradesh 2,09,938 2,56,577 287555 423074
16. Jammu & Kashmir 1,21,754 1,55,889 174640 218833
17. Jharkhand 3,33,494 3,53,670 383212 446803
18. Karnataka 13,81,438 12,77,153 1546631 1763930
19. Kerala 11,52,056 11,62,952 1275520 1841556
20 Ladakh --- ----- ------ 768
21. Lakshadweep --- --- --- ----
22. Madhya Pradesh 13,25,053 13,70,355 1420511 1719056
23. Maharashtra 33,36,574 35,61,746 3760171 4582365
24. Manipur 9,604 9,994 9879 11139
25. Meghalaya 7,032 6,727 8851 10410
26. Mizoram 3,306 3,653 2560 4710
27. Nagaland --- --- --- 1562
28. Odisha 10,22,635 11,23,055 1220696 1398399
29. Punjab 5,68,232 5,99,053 631132 831225
30. Rajasthan 14,24,560 15,05,712 1654941 1863560
31. Sikkim 1,400 1,306 1180 1600
32. Tamil Nadu 10,10,381 11,03,460 1158027 1297274
33. Puducherry --- --- --- ----
34. Tripura 25,191 23,519 24190 44534
35. Uttar Pradesh 61,61,822 70,04,569 7504678 8653883
36. Uttarakhand 2,10,587 2,38,349 197858 269058
37. West Bengal 17,59,635 22,05,954 2275633 2401947
Total 2,61,24,130
2,91,73,911
3,14,48,888 37183419
Note: Data on District and Subordinate Courts in the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry are not available on the web-portal of NJDG. Data in respect of Andaman & Nicobar Islands is not available on NJDG Portal.
Annexure- III
Statement showing Sanctioned strength, Working Strength and Vacancies of Judges in the High Courts (As on 29.01.2021)
Sl. No. Name of the High Court Sanctioned Strength Working Strength Vacancies
Pmt. Addl Total Pmt. Addl Total Pmt. Addl Total
1 Allahabad 120 40 160 82 14 96 38 26 64
2 Andhra Pradesh 28 09 37 19 0 19 09 09 18
3 Bombay 71 23 94 49 15 64 22 08 30
4 Calcutta 54 18 72 31 02 33 23 16 39
5 Chhattisgarh 17 05 22 13 01 14 04 04 08
6 Delhi 45 15 60 29 0 29 16 15 31
7 Gauhati 18 06 24 18 03 21 0 03 03
8 Gujarat 39 13 52 30 0 30 09 13 22
9 Himachal Pradesh 10 03 13 10 0 10 0 03 03
10 High Court for UTs of
J & K and Ladakh 13 04 17 11 0 11 02 04 06
11 Jharkhand 19 06 25 17 0 17 02 06 08
12 Karnataka 47 15 62 26 20 46 21 -05 16
13 Kerala 35 12 47 30 07 37 05 05 10
14 Madhya Pradesh 40 13 53 27 0 27 13 13 26
15 Madras 56 19 75 52 10 62 04 09 13
16 Manipur 04 01 05 04 01 05 0 0 0
17 Meghalaya 03 01 04 04 0 04 -01 01 0
18 Orissa 20 07 27 15 0 15 05 07 12
19 Patna 40 13 53 22 0 22 18 13 31
20 Punjab& Haryana 64 21 85 37 11 48 27 10 37
21 Rajasthan 38 12 50 23 0 23 15 12 27
22 Sikkim 03 0 03 03 0 03 0 0 0
23 High Court for the State of Telangana 18 06 24 14 0 14 04 06 10
24 Tripura 04 01 05 04 0 04 0 01 01
25 Uttarakhand 09 02 11 07 01 08 02 01 03
Total 815 265 1080 577 85 662 238 180 418
PMT – Permanent
Addl. - Additional
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