(a) the number of district courts, district-wise, across the country including the State of Maharashtra and number of cases pending in those courts at present;
(b) whether the Government proposes a new plan to provide justice to people related to those pending cases; and
(c) if so, the details thereof ?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
(a) : The District and Subordinate Courts are set up by the State Governments in consultation with concerned High Courts. As per information available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as on date, there are 3206 Court Complexes in 633 Districts in the country. As per information available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as on 29.01.2020, about 3.19 crore cases are pending in various District and Subordinate Courts. Statement of number of pending cases in District and Subordinate Courts as on 29.01.2020 is given in the Annexure.
(b) & (c): Disposal of cases in courts is within the domain of the judiciary. Government has no role in disposal of cases in courts. However, the Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms has adopted 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. The major steps taken during the last five years under various initiatives are as follows:
(a) Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs. 7,453.10 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, Rs.4,008.80 crores (which is 53.79% 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 19,632 as on 29.01.2020 and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 17,412 as on 29.01.2020 under this scheme. In addition, 2,713 court halls and 1,893 residential units are under construction.
(b) 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 to 16,845 registering an increase of 3,173 during 2014 till date. 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). Currently, case status information in respect of over 12.97 crore pending and disposed cases and more than 11.15 crore orders / judgments pertaining to these computerized courts is available on NJDG. 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.
(c) Filling up of vacant positions in Supreme Court, High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 30.01.2020, 35 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 515 new Judges were appointed and 435 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 increased as follows:
As on Sanctioned Strength Working Strength
31.12.2013 19,518 15,115
29.01.2020 23,782 18,812
(d) 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.
(e) 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.
(f) 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 30.09.2019, 704 Fast Track Courts are functional for heinous crimes, crimes against women and children, family and matrimonial disputes, etc. To fast track criminal cases involving elected MPs / MLAs, ten (10) Special Courts are functional in nine (9) States (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, 26 States/UTs have joined the scheme for setting up of 648 FTSCs including 363 exclusive POCSO courts. Rs.99.35 crore (out of the total allocation of Rs.100 crore) has already been released as the first installment to these 26 States.
***********
Annexure
Details of cases pending in the District & Subordinate Courts, State-wise [as on 29.01.2020]
Sl. No
Name of States/UTs Total
Districts Total
Court
Complexes Total Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts$$
1. A & N Island 1 4 ------
2. Andhra Pradesh 13 187 564693
3. Telangana 10 106 566407
4. Arunachal Pradesh - - -------
5. Assam 27 66 297372
6. Bihar 37 79 2875713
7. Chandigarh 1 1 48262
8. Chhattisgarh 23 89 279410
9. D & N Haveli 1 2 3033
10. Daman & Diu 2 2 2310
11. Delhi 11 12 866265
12. Goa 2 16 24813
13. Gujarat 32 328 1611359
14. Haryana 21 57 869120
15. Himachal Pradesh 11 41 290465
16. Jammu & Kashmir 20 81 177254
17. Jharkhand 24 24 386064
18. Karnataka 30 193 1555617
19. Kerala 15 131 1294910
20. Ladakh 2 3 450
21. Lakshadweep - - ------
22. Madhya Pradesh 50 208 1449383
23. Maharashtra 40 467 3766400
24. Manipur 9 18 9826
25. Meghalaya 8 4 8847
26. Mizoram 2 8 2544
27. Nagaland - - ---------
28. Orissa 30 119 1244832
29. Punjab 22 67 639683
30. Rajasthan 35 306 1699168
31. Sikkim 4 5 1302
32. Tamil Nadu 33 251 1153262
33. Puducherry - - ----------
34. Tripura 8 21 25109
35. Uttar Pradesh 74 169 7690966
36. Uttarakhand 13 56 208011
37. West Bengal 22 85 2290464
Total 633 3206 31903314
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 is not available on NJDG Portal