Lok Sabha Question No. 1818 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Time Frame for Disposal of Criminal Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Poonam (Mahajan) Vajendla Rao, Nishikant  Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1818

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

## Time Frame for Disposal of Criminal Cases

## 1818. SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN: DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

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

- (a) whether Government has any data of the pending cases including criminal cases in the courts across the country and if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (b) whether Government proposes to fix any time limit for disposal of criminal and civil  cases in various courts of the country so that people can get time bound justice and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the plan for fast tracking work in judicial courts;
- (d)  whether  Government  proposes  to  set  up  any  commission  or  committee  for judicial  reforms  and  speedy  disposal  of  pending  court  cases  and  if  so,  the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to reduce the pendency of
- court cases?

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

- (a) : As per the information available on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), State / UTwise  details  of  civil  and  criminal  cases  pending  in  District  and  Subordinate  Courts  are given in a Statement attached as Annexure .
- (b) to (e) : No time frame has been prescribed for disposal of various kinds of cases by the respective courts.  Government has no role in disposal of cases in courts.   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:

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

- (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.

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

## Annexure

## Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1818 for reply on 03 rd July, 2019 regarding Time Frame for Disposal of Criminal Cases Details of Civil and Criminal Cases pending District and Subordinate Courts

| Sr. No.   | Name of the State / UT   |   Civil Cases |   Criminal Cases |    Total |
|-----------|--------------------------|---------------|------------------|----------|
| 1.        | Andhra Pradesh           |        301437 |           245046 |   546483 |
| 2.        | Assam                    |         66024 |           227416 |   293440 |
| 3.        | Bihar                    |        384676 |          2330204 |  2714880 |
| 4.        | Chandigarh               |         18026 |            28992 |    47018 |
| 5.        | Chhattisgarh             |         56041 |           204768 |   260809 |
| 6.        | Delhi                    |        190219 |           598144 |   788363 |
| 7.        | Diu and Daman            |          1124 |             1079 |     2203 |
| 8.        | Dadra and Nagar Haveli   |          1397 |             1695 |     3092 |
| 9.        | Goa                      |         13426 |            10768 |    24194 |
| 10.       | Gujarat                  |        428860 |          1243392 |  1672252 |
| 11.       | Haryana                  |        295444 |           510343 |   805787 |
| 12.       | Himachal Pradesh         |        119649 |           159644 |   279293 |
| 13.       | Jammu and Kashmir        |         71954 |            97135 |   169089 |
| 14.       | Jharkhand                |         64516 |           301604 |   366120 |
| 15.       | Karnataka                |        750997 |           881187 |  1632184 |
| 16.       | Kerala                   |        382997 |           873082 |  1256079 |
| 17.       | Madhya Pradesh           |        335163 |          1109192 |  1444355 |
| 18.       | Maharashtra              |       1205140 |          2495640 |  3700780 |
| 19.       | Manipur                  |          5680 |             4218 |     9898 |
| 20.       | Meghalaya                |          1994 |             5381 |     7375 |
| 21.       | Mizoram                  |          1072 |             1270 |     2342 |
| 22.       | Odisha                   |        256824 |           927596 |  1184420 |
| 23.       | Punjab                   |        268436 |           355692 |   624128 |
| 24.       | Rajasthan                |        404292 |          1142758 |  1547050 |
| 25.       | Sikkim                   |           515 |              813 |     1328 |
| 26.       | Tamilnadu                |        654269 |           500804 |  1155073 |
| 27.       | Telengana                |        236415 |           298719 |   535134 |
| 28.       | Tripura                  |          7453 |            15615 |    23068 |
| 29.       | Uttar Pradesh            |       1729831 |          5732842 |  7462673 |
| 30.       | Uttarakhand              |         36155 |           192286 |   228441 |
| 31.       | West Bengal              |        504374 |          1766327 |  2270701 |
| Total     |                          |       8794400 |         22263652 | 31058052 |

Source:  National  Judicial  Data  Grid.  Data  in  respect  of  Andaman  &  Nicobar  Island,  Lakshadweep,  Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are not available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid.

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