Lok Sabha Question No. 3564 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-02
Subject: Development of Court Infrastructure
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3564

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 02 ND  JANUARY, 2019.

## Development of Court Infrastructure

## 3564. SHRIMATI PRATYUSHA RAJESHWARI SINGH:

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

- (a) the status of development of infrastructure facilities and computerisation in the Courts;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  shortage  of  court  rooms  and  other infrastructure  in  the  Courts  across  the  country  resulting  in  tardy  disposal  of cases in such courts and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (c)  the  sanctioned strength of Judges in the Courts including Subordinate Courts and  the  number  of  posts  lying  vacant  at  present,  Court-wise  along  with  the reasons therefor and the corrective steps being taken by the Government to fill up  the  vacant  posts  and  provide  adequate  infrastructure  in  the  Court  at  the earliest?

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

## ANSWER (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

(a)  &  (b)  :  It  is  the  primary  responsibility  of  the  State  Governments  to  provide  Judicial Infrastructure / Court Rooms for High Courts and District / Subordinate Courts.  The Union Government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in order to augment the resources of State  Governments,  in  association  with the  States  /  UT  Governments.    The  scheme  is being  implemented  since  1993-94.    It  covers  the  construction  of  court  halls  and  court complexes and residential accommodations of judicial officers of District and Subordinate Judiciary.    As  on  date,  Rs.  6,623  crore  have  been  released  since  the  inception  of  the Scheme in 1993-94.  Out of this, Rs. 3,179 crore (48%) have been released to the States and  UTs  since  April,  2014.    18,731  court  halls  and  16,539  residential  accommodations have been made available for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts under this scheme as on date against the working strength of 17,509 Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts of the country.  In addition, 2,906 court halls and 1,754 residential units are under construction.

The Government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project for Information and Communication Technology enablement of district and subordinate courts, across  the  country  in  association  with  the  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  of  India.    The  steps being taken by the Government to promote the use of technology in the working of the courts are as under:

- (i)  The eCourts Mission Mode Project Phase-I was implemented during 2011 - 2015.  At the  end  of  Phase-I,  out  of  the  total  target  of  computerisation  of  14,249  district  and subordinate courts, sites for all 14,249 courts (100%) were made ready for computerisation, out of which LAN was installed at 13,643 courts, hardware was provided in  13,436  courts  and software  was  installed  in  13,672  courts.  Laptops  were  provided  to 14,309 judicial officers and change management exercise was completed in all the High Courts.  Over 14,000 Judicial Officers were trained in the use of UBUNTU-Linux Operating System and more than 4,000 court staff have been trained as System Administrators in Case Information System (CIS).  Video Conferencing facility was operationalised between 488 court complexes and 342 corresponding jails.
- (ii)  The eCourts Mission Mode Project Phase-II is being implemented for a period of four years (2015-19) or until the project is completed, whichever is later.  Against the financial outlay of Rs.1,670 crores in the second phase, Rs.931.31 crores have been released to High Courts and Rs.616.45 crore have been utilised by the High Courts.
- (iii)  The target set out under the project is 20,000 courts. Out of that 14,249 courts have been covered under the first phase.
- (iv)  Computerisation  of  16,845  district  and  subordinate  courts  has  been  completed, through provisioning of computer hardware, Local Area Network (LAN), and installation of standard application software in district and subordinate courts.
- (v) During the Phase II, till date, 164.11 crore electronic transactions have been recorded for eCourts through eTaal portal.  The eCourts transactions have thus emerged as one of the top most accessed services of the Government of India.
- ( c ) : Court-wise details of sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies of Judges / Judicial Officers are as below:

| Court         | Sanctioned Strength   |   Working Strength |   Vacancies |
|---------------|-----------------------|--------------------|-------------|
| Supreme Court | 31                    |                 27 |           4 |
| High Courts   | 1,079                 |                692 |         387 |

| District and Subordinate Courts   | 22,644   | 17,509   | 5,135   |
|-----------------------------------|----------|----------|---------|

Filling  up  of  vacancies  in  the  High  Courts  is  a  continuous  and  collaborative process, between the Executive and the Judiciary.  It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities.  Initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the  High  Courts  vests  with  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  concerned  High  Court.  While  every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies in High Courts keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges (to the Supreme Court) and also due to increase in the strength of Judges.

As per the Constitutional framework, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate  courts  is  the  responsibility  of  the  High  Courts  and  State  Governments concerned.  In so far as recruitment of judicial officers in the States is concerned, in certain States recruitment is done by the High Courts, whereas in other States, the recruitment is done by High Courts in consultation with State Public Service Commission.

During the Chief Justice's Conference held in 2016 it was, inter-alia, resolved that the Chief Justices shall take effective steps in coordination with the State Governments to ensure  an  increase  in  the  cadre  strength  of the  District  and  Subordinate  Courts commensurate  with  the  needs  of  their  states  in  compliance  with  the  judgment  of  the Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  in  Brij  Mohan  Lal versus Union  of  India,  and  will  ensure compliance with the time schedule and directions laid down in the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Malik Mazhar Sultan case (2006).  It was also resolved that the Chief Justices shall, in particular, ensure that the Selection and Appointment Committees in the High Courts periodically monitor the process of filling up of vacancies in the District and Subordinate Courts.

In September, 2016, Union Minister of Law & Justice wrote to the Chief Ministers of  States  and  the  Chief  Justices  of  High  Courts  to  enhance  the  cadre  strength  of  the District and Subordinate Courts and provide physical infrastructure to the State judiciary. The  same  was  reiterated  in  May,  2017.  In  August,  2018,  in  the  context  of  increasing pendency of cases, the Union Minister of Law & Justice has written to  Chief Justices of all the  High  Courts  to  monitor  the  status  of  the  vacancies  regularly  and  to  ensure  proper coordination with the State Public Service Commission to fill up vacant posts as per time schedule prescribed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case.  The filling  up  of  vacancies is also being monitored by the Supreme Court in a suo-motu writ petition (civil) no. 2 of 2018.

A series of meetings were held with Registrars General of all High Courts and Law Secretaries of all State Governments / UTs through Video Conferencing in  January, 2018, July,  2018  and  November,  2018  to  follow  up  on  filling  up  posts  of  Judicial  Officers  in District and Subordinate Courts.

The Department of Justice has hosted a web-portal on its website for reporting and monitoring of sanctioned and working strength, and vacancies of Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts on monthly basis.

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