PENDENCY OF CASES IN COURTS
The pendency of cases in the Supreme
Court has come down from 1,04,936 as on December 31, 1991 to 23,012
as on date. However, in the High Courts, the number of pending
cases which was 26.51 lakhs on December 31, 1993 has gone up to
36.20 lakhs in August 2002. The pendency of cases in the district
and subordinate courts, which was 2.18 crore on December 31, 1995
has now stablised around a little over two crore cases. Some cases
are pending for more than 15 years at various levels of the judiciary.
Pendency of cases in the courts is
on account of a multiplicity of factors, like increase in litigation
and increase in the number of laws, inadequate provision for infrastructural
facilities for the judiciary, inadequate strength of judges and
supporting staff.
The then Chief Justice of India in
his Law Day address on November 26, 2001, stated , "the reason
why we do not have more judges across the board is because the
States are simply not willing to provide the finances that are
required……Each and every State in the country has stated in reply
that it has no more money for the judiciary".
At present, the average number of
cases pending before each judge of a High Court comes to around
5,600 cases.
Meanwhile, series of steps have been
taken by the Government for the speedy disposal of cases. These
include simplification of procedures, increase in the number of
posts of judges and judicial officers, establishment of special
courts, tribunals, adoption of alternative modes of dispute resolution,
such as, arbitration, conciliation and establishment of increasing
number of Lok Adalats and Permanent Lok Adalats. The Government
has also amended the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide
for Permanent Lok Adalats to adjudicate cases relating to public
utility matters upto the value of Rs. 10 lakhs.
The Centre
has also urged State Governments to accord more financial autonomy
to the judiciary.
