Lok Sabha Question No. 1965 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Land Dispute Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Jagdambika Pal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1965

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 03 RD  JULY, 2019.

## Land Dispute Cases

## 1965. SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

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

- (a)  whether  a  number  of  land  disputes  cases  are  lying  pending  in  various  High Courts for years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, the State and Court-wise;
- (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government/directions issued to dispose of those pending cases;
- (d) whether there is any proposal to set up special courts for the speedy disposal of property litigations; and
- (e)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  time  by  which  these  are  likely  to  be  set  up, location-wise?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b): Land-related disputes are in the nature of revenue and civil cases.  As per data available  on  the  National  Judicial  Data  Grid  (NJDG),  civil  cases  constitute  87.94  lakh cases and criminal cases constitute 222.64 lakh cases out of the total 310.58 lakh cases pending in various District and Subordinate Courts.  Further, civil cases constitute 18.77 lakh cases, criminal cases constitute 12.17 lakh cases and writ cases constitute 12.64 lakh cases out of the total 43.58 lakh cases pending in various High Courts.  However, NJDG does  not  separately  provide  the  number  of  pending  land-related  disputes.    State  and Court-wise details of land-related disputes in revenue courts in various States and Courts is maintained by the respective States / Courts.

Land  and  its  management  falls  under  the  domain  of  State  Governments. Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India is, however, implementing the `Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme that, inter alia , provides for digitization of Records of Right, cadastral maps, computerization  of  registration  and  integration  of  registration  with  the  revenue  offices, ultimately resulting in minimization of land disputes, to some extent.

(c) : The Central Government is fully committed to speedy disposal of cases in accordance with  Article  21  of  the  Constitution  and  reducing  pendency.    The  Government  has  taken several  initiatives  to  provide  an  ecosystem  for  faster  disposal  of  cases  by  the  judiciary. The  National Mission  for Justice Delivery and  Legal  Reforms  established  by  the Government has adopted  a coordinated approach for phased liquidation  of  arrears  and pendency in judicial administration through various strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure for courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better  justice  delivery,  and  filling  up  of  vacant  positions  of  Judges  in  High  Courts  and Supreme  Court.    The  major  achievements  during  the  last  five  years  under  various initiatives to make the functioning of judiciary more efficient are as follows:

- (i)  Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts: As on date,  Rs.6,986.50  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, 3,542.20crores (which are 50.70% 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  19,101  as  on  date  and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 16,777 as on date under this scheme.  In addition, 2,879 court halls and 1,886 residential units are  under  construction.    The  Central  Government  has  approved  continuation  of  the Scheme beyond the 12 th Five Year Plan period i.e. from 01.04.2017 to 31.03.2020 with an estimated additional outlay of Rs.3,320 crore.
- (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 computerised 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  developed  and deployed  at  all  the  computerized  District  and  Subordinate  Courts.    QR  Code  facility made operational in the software, which enables to check current status of the case. National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) provides citizens with online information about case

filings,  case  status  and  electronic  copies  of  orders  and  judgments  from  district  and subordinate courts that have already been computerized.  Information regarding 11.67 crore  cases  is  available  on  this  portal.    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 computerised courts, eCourts Mobile App, email service, SMS push & pull services. Information Kiosks have been setup at all computerized court complexes  for disseminating  judicial information related to cause  lists  and  other  case  related information  to  the  lawyers  and  litigants.    eCourts  Project  has  been  consistently amongst the top 5 Mission Mode Projects of country.

- (iii)  :  Filling  up  of  vacant  positions  in  Supreme  Court,  High  Courts  and  District  and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 24.06.2019, 31 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court.  454 new Judges were appointed and 366 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  been increased as follows:
- (iv) Reduction  in  Pendency  through  /  follow  up  by  Arrears  Committees:  Further,  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 20 th 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. At present, 581 such Fast Track  Courts  are  functioning  across  the  country.    To  fast  track  criminal  cases involving elected MPs / MLAs, twelve (12) Special Courts were set up in eleven (11) States  (Andhra  Pradesh,  Telangana,  Kerala,  Karnataka,  Tamil  Nadu,  Maharashtra, Madhya  Pradesh,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  West  Bengal  and  NCT  of  Delhi)  and proportionate  funds  have  been  released  to  these  States  by  the  Government.  The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 has been enacted on 11.08.2018 to amend the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

| As on      | Sanctioned Strength   | Working Strength   |
|------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 31.12.2013 | 19,518                | 15,115             |
| 27.06.2019 | 21,340                | 17,757             |

(d) & (e) : Setting up of subordinate courts including Special Courts for property litigations falls  within  the  domain  of  the  State  Governments  which  set  up  such  courts as  per  their need and resources, in consultation with the High Court concerned.

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