Lok Sabha Question No. 2547 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-04
Subject: Justice System in India
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Shivkumar Chanabasappa Udasi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2547

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 04 th  DECEMBER, 2019

## Justice System in India

## †2547. SHRI SHIVAKUMAR C. UDASI: SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY:

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

- (a)  whether the justice system in India is inadequate and law and order has been a major concern, especially in the two big States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar;
- (b)  whether almost 80 per cent of India`s 1.25 billion population is eligible for free legal aid but only 15 million people have availed it since 1995 and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c)  the details of the India Justice Report 2019 commissioned by Tata Trusts and
- the reaction of the Government thereto?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a): It  is  the  primary  responsibility  of  State  Governments  to  provide  adequate infrastructure for Subordinate Judiciary which includes court complexes / court halls and residential  accommodation.  The  Union  Government  has  been  administering  the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in order to augment the resources of State Governments in this regard in association with the States / UT Governments. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Infrastructural Facilities for Judiciary, in  the  case  of  Uttar  Pradesh,  a  sum  of  Rs.1101.60  crore  has  been  sanctioned  till 28.11.2019 since the inception of the scheme, out of which Rs.550.31 crore has been sanctioned since 2014-15 (which is around 50% of the total release under the Scheme). During  the  current  financial  year  2019-20,  a  sum  of  Rs.121.94  crore  has  been sanctioned  to  the  State  of  Uttar  Pradesh.  Under  this  scheme,  in  the  State  of  Uttar Pradesh,  2278  court  halls  and  1937  residential  units  have  been  made  available  for

Judicial  Officers  of  District  and  Subordinate  Courts  as  on  28.11.2019  against  the working  strength  of  2012  Judicial  Officers.  In  addition,  332  court  halls  and  401 residential units are under construction in Uttar Pradesh.

Similarly, in the case of Bihar, a sum of Rs.337.25 crore has been sanctioned till 28.11.2019 since the inception of the scheme, out of which Rs.281.65 crore has been sanctioned since 2014-15 (which is around 83% of the total release under the Scheme). During the current financial year 2019-20, a sum of Rs.77.62 crore has been sanctioned to  the  State  of  Bihar.  Under  this  scheme,  in  the  State  of  Bihar,  1485  court  halls  and 1094  residential  units  have  been  made  available  for  Judicial  Officers  of  District  and Subordinate  Courts  as  on  28.11.2019  against  the  working  strength  of  1152  Judicial Officers. In addition, 159 court halls and 280 residential units are under construction in Bihar.

Further, in order to strengthen the justice system, the National Mission for Justice Delivery  and  Legal  Reforms,  established  by  the  Union  Government  in  2011,  has adopted  many  strategic  initiatives.  Besides  improving  infrastructure  [court  halls  and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts,  the initiatives include leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery  through  the  eCourts  Mission  Mode  Project,  filling  up  of  vacant  positions  of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears  Committees  at  District,  High  Court  and  Supreme  Court  level,  emphasis  on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases.

As per the Constitutional framework, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate courts is the responsibility of High Court and State Government concerned. 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  all Chief Justices of 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. Sanctioned and working strength of Judicial Officers in all District and Subordinate Courts in country as well as in the States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, has increased as follows:

| As on      | All District and Subordinate Courts   | All District and Subordinate Courts   | District and Subordinate Courts in Uttar Pradesh   | District and Subordinate Courts in Uttar Pradesh   | District and Subordinate Courts in Bihar   | District and Subordinate Courts in Bihar   |
|------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
|            | Sanctioned Strength                   | Working Strength                      | Sanctioned Strength                                | Working Strength                                   | Sanctioned Strength                        | Working Strength                           |
| 31.12.2013 | 19,518                                | 15,115                                | 1,922                                              | 1,738                                              | 1,494                                      | 878                                        |
| 28.11.2019 | 23,564                                | 18,125                                | 3,416                                              | 2,012                                              | 1,847                                      | 1,152                                      |

As  regards  law  and  order,  Police  and  Public  order  are  State  subjects  and prevention, detection, investigation of crime are primarily the responsibility of States.

(b): Under Section 12 of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (39 of the Central Act), the following persons are entitled to free legal services:

- a)  a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes;
- b)  a victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar as referred to in article 23 of the Constitution;
- c)  a woman or a child;
- d)  a person with disability as defined in clause (i) of section 2 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995;
- e)  a person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass  disaster,  ethnic  violence,  caste  atrocity,  flood,  drought,  earthquake  or industrial disaster; or
- f) an industrial workman; or
- g)  in custody, including custody in a protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, or a in a Juvenile home within the meaning of clause (j) of section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (53 of 1986), or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home within the  meaning  of  clause  (g)  of  section  2  of  the  Mental  Health  Act,  1987  (14  of 1987); or
- h)  a  person  in  receipt  of  annual  income  less  than  Rs.3,00,000/-  (in  some  States Rs.1,00,000/-  and  Rs.1,50,000/-)  if  the  case  is  before  a  court  other  than  the Supreme Court, and less than Rs.5,00,000/-, if the case is before the Supreme Court.

As  on  30.06.2019,  about  1.82  crore  persons  have  been  benefited  through  Legal Services and Advice under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 since inception of the National Legal Services Authority.

(c): As per India Justice Report, 2019 published by Tata Trusts, there are 28 million cases pending in Indian subordinate courts and 24% have been pending for more than 5 years. The Report, inter-alia, further states that in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, at least one in every four cases has been pending for more than 5 years. In this regard, it is stated that disposal of cases in courts is within the domain of judiciary. Timely disposal of  cases  in  courts  depends  on  several  factors  which, inter-alia ,  include  availability  of adequate number  of judges, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz. bar, investigation  agencies,  witnesses  and  litigants  and  proper  application  of  rules  and procedures.

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