Lok Sabha Question No. 2756 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-01-03
Subject: Action Plan for Reform in Judiciary
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2756

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 03 RD  JANUARY, 2018.

## Action Plan for Reform in Judiciary

## 2756. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL:

## Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has prepared the draft for the future action plan for reforms in judiciary in the country;
- (b) if so, the details and the salient features thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (c): During the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices  of  the  High  Courts  held  at  New  Delhi  in  April  2015,  reduction  of pendency and backlog of cases in courts emerged as an area which required focused  attention  at  the  High  Court  level.    The  Chief  Justices  of  the  High Courts in the Conference held on 03 rd and 04 th April 2015 have resolved that each High Court shall establish an Arrears Committee, which would go into the factors responsible for the delays and prepare an action plan to clear the backlog of cases pending for more than five years.  It was further resolved in the Conference of Chief Justices of the High Courts held in April, 2016, that in order to ensure expeditious disposal of cases pertaining to women, marginalized segments, senior citizens and differently-abled, steps be taken to  (a)  prioritize  the  disposal  of  cases  falling  in  these  categories  within  the existing court system; (b) an endeavour be made to revisit the cadre strength of subordinate courts and, where necessary, create additional courts to deal with such cases.  Accordingly, Arrears Committees have been established in High Courts.  The Supreme Court has also constituted an Arrears Committee consisting of  two  Hon'ble  Judges to formulate steps to reduce pendency of cases in High Courts and District Courts.

The  Government  has  adopted  a  co-ordinated  approach  to  assist judiciary  for  phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial systems, which, inter-alia , involves better infrastructure for courts including computerisation, increase in strength of judicial officers / judges, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation and emphasis on human resource development.

It may be mentioned that the Central Government is fully committed to speedy disposal of cases in accordance with Article 21 of the Constitution. It has undertaken many steps towards achieving this  objective.  One  of  these steps  is, strengthening  of  judicial infrastructure in districts  through  the Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  for Development  of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary.  Under this Scheme a total of Rs. 6009 crore has been released  since  1993-94,  out  of  which  Rs.  2,565  crore  (42.66%)  has  been released  since  April,  2014.  17,848  Court  Halls  and  14,085  Residential Accommodations  have  been  made  available  for  Judicial  Officers  of  District and  Subordinate  Courts  under  this  scheme  as  on  30.11.2017.  Out  of  this 2,429 Court Halls and 4,172 Residential Accommodations were constructed since 2014 to till  date.  In  addition,  3,143  Court  Halls  and  1,682 Residential Accommodations  are  under  construction.  The  Central  Government  has approved  continuation  of  the  aforesaid  scheme  beyond  the  12 th Five  Year Plan  period i.e. from  01.04.2017  to  31.03.2020  with  an  estimated  outlay  of Rs.3,320 crore.

Under the Phase-I of the eCourts Mission Mode Project undertaken by the  Central  Government  from  2010  to  2015,  against  a  total  target  of computerisation of  14249  courts,  the  computerisation  of  13,672  district  and subordinate courts was achieved. This includes the installation of hardware, the LAN and software.  This has enabled the courts to upload the case status and orders online. Status of cases and copies of judgments have also been made  available  on  the  websites  of  the  respective  District  and  Subordinate Court Complexes which have been computerised.

In the Phase II of the eCourts Mission Mode Project (July, 2015 upto 31  March  2019)  an  outlay  of  Rs.1,670  crores  has  been  approved.  The facilities of e-services such  as cause  lists, case  status, daily orders, judgments etc. are  being  provided under the supervision of e-Committee of the Supreme Court and Computer Committees of respective High Courts. A total of 16,089 Courts have been computerised under the eCourts Project till date. Video Conferencing facility has also been opertionalised between  488 court complexes and 342 corresponding prisons during the period 2015-17. Development  of  National  Judicial  Data  Grid  (NJDG),  developed  under  this project,  provides  updated  information  on  civil  and  criminal  cases,  including pending  cases,  pertaining  to  the  computerised  district/subordinate  courts  in the country.

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