Lok Sabha Question No. 312 (STARRED), answered on 2016-12-07
Subject: Pending Cases in States
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: HUKUM SINGH

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

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *312

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 07 TH  DECEMBER, 2016

## Pending Cases in States

## *312. SHRI HUKUM SINGH:

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

- (a)  whether six States account for around 90% of the 23 lakh cases older than 10 years pending in various courts in the country and if so, the facts thereof;
- (b) whether around 71% of all cases pending for over 10 years are criminal cases where a court is bound to dispose of the matter in a fixed time and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether the judicial system in some States has shown willingness to take up the older cases of rape, murder, culpable homicide, grievous hurts, etc . on priority basis and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken / being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  of  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *312 FOR ANSWER ON 07 TH  DECEMBER, 2016.

(a) to (c) : The data on pendency of cases is maintained by the Supreme Court and the High Courts. As per information furnished by the High Courts, about 20.30 lakh pending cases in the District and Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2015 were more than ten years old.  Six States,  namely,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Gujarat,  Maharashtra,  Bihar,  Orissa  and  West  Bengal account for 84.7 percent pendency of more than ten years old cases.  About 70 percent of the cases, which are pending for more than ten years are criminal cases.

Disposal of cases in courts is within the domain of the judiciary.  The actual time taken for disposal of a case depends on several factors such as category of the case (civil or  criminal),  complexity  of  the  facts  involved,  nature  of  evidence,  co-operation  of  stakeholders viz .  bar,  investigation  agencies,  witnesses  and  litigants  besides  the  availability  of physical infrastructure, supporting court staff and applicable rules and procedures.  As such, it is not practicable to fix mandatory time limits for all categories of cases.

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.

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.

Some of the steps taken by the Government are indicated below:

-  The sanctioned strength of Judges / Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts has increased from 17,715 at the end of 2012 to 21,320 in June 2016 on account of concerted efforts made by all stakeholders.
-  The  Central  Government  has  provided  financial  assistance  to  the  tune  of  Rs.  5,459 crore to the State Governments / UTs since inception of Judicial Infrastructure Scheme in 1993-94.  Out of this, an amount of Rs.2,014 crore has been sanctioned since 201415.
-  16,513 courts halls were available for subordinate judiciary against the working strength of 16,070 judges / judicial officers as on 31.12.2015.
-  2,447  court  halls  were  under  construction  to  take  care  of  increase  in  the  working strength on account of filling up of vacancies.
-  As per available information, 524 Fast Track Courts are operational in the country.

The 14 th Finance Commission has endorsed the proposal to strengthen the judicial system  in  States  which  inter-alia  includes,  establishment  of  1800  Fast  Track  Courts  for period of five  years  for  cases  of  heinous  crimes;  cases  involving  senior  citizens,  women, children, disabled and litigants affected with HIV AIDS and other terminal ailments; and civil disputes involving land acquisition and property / rent disputes pending for more than five years.  The Finance Commission urged the State Governments to use the additional fiscal space provided by the Commission in the tax devolution to meet such requirements.

************