Lok Sabha Question No. 127 (STARRED), answered on 2018-12-19
Subject: Cases Pending in Subordinate Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: G. HARI

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

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *127

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 19 TH  DECEMBER, 2018.

Cases Pending in Subordinate Courts

*127. SHRI G. HARI:

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

- (a) whether it is true that over 22 lakh cases, which are over a decade old, are pending in various subordinate courts of the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  it  is  also  true  that  the  Government  has  been  urging  the  chief justices  of  24  high  courts  to  fast  track  cases  that  are  pending  for  more than ten years; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## 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.  *127  FOR  ANSWER  ON  19 TH DECEMBER, 2018.

As per National Judicial Data Grid, on 12 th December, 2018, there are 2.91 crore cases pending in the district and subordinate courts, out of which 21.90 lakh cases are pending for more than 10 years. The State-wise details of cases pending for more than 10 years is given in the Annexure .

The Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency  of  cases  to  improve  access  to  justice  in  line  with  the  mandate  of  the Preamble and Article 39A of the Constitution. The following interventions have been made by the Government during the last 4 years:

- 1) Pursuant to the decisions taken in the Joint Conference of the Chief Ministers of  the  States  and  Chief  Justices  of  the  High  Courts  in  2015,  Arrears Committee has been established in the Supreme Court, all 24 High Courts and District  Courts.  The  progress  made  by  the  High  Courts  and  subordinate judiciary  in  reducing  pendency  was  taken  up  for  consideration  again  in  the Conference of Chief Justices of High Courts held in April 2016, wherein it was resolved, inter alia, that all High Courts shall assign top most priority for disposal of cases which are pending for more than five years.
- 2) In April, 2015, the Hon'ble Prime Minister had written to all Chief Ministers of States drawing attention to the pending cases in courts and urging them to utilise  the  additional  fiscal  space  provided  in  the  form  of  enhanced  tax devolution from 32%  to 42%  as recommended by the  14 th Finance

Commission and accepted by the Government, to improve the working of the judicial system and provide speedy justice in the country.

- 3) In September, 2016, 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 judiciary 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 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 Supreme Court in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case.

Besides taking up the concern of pendency of cases with the States and High Courts, the Government has simultaneously 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 [court halls and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate  Courts,  leveraging  Information  and  Communication  Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, 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.

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Annexure

Statement referred to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *127 for reply on 19 th December, 2018.

State  -wise  details  of  cases  pending  for  more  than  10  years  in  district  and subordinate courts.

|   S. No. | State                             | Number of cases pending in and Subordinate Courts for than 10 years.   | District more   |
|----------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|
|        1 | Uttar Pradesh                     |                                                                        | 8,29,128        |
|        2 | Bihar                             |                                                                        | 3,20,971        |
|        3 | Maharashtra                       |                                                                        | 2,36,674        |
|        4 | West Bengal                       |                                                                        | 2,36,294        |
|        5 | Gujarat                           |                                                                        | 2,23,550        |
|        6 | Orissa                            |                                                                        | 1,62,350        |
|        7 | Rajasthan                         |                                                                        | 54,507          |
|        8 | Tamil Nadu                        |                                                                        | 31,086          |
|        9 | Karnataka                         |                                                                        | 30,114          |
|       10 | Madhya Pradesh                    |                                                                        | 12,250          |
|       11 | Telangana                         |                                                                        | 10,503          |
|       12 | Jharkhand                         |                                                                        | 9,475           |
|       13 | Kerala                            |                                                                        | 6,806           |
|       14 | Andhra Pradesh                    |                                                                        | 4,094           |
|       15 | Delhi                             |                                                                        | 3,668           |
|       16 | Uttarakhand                       |                                                                        | 3,521           |
|       17 | Jammu and Kashmir                 |                                                                        | 3,407           |
|       18 | Assam                             |                                                                        | 2,982           |
|       19 | Tripura                           |                                                                        | 2,222           |
|       20 | Goa                               |                                                                        | 1,657           |
|       21 | Chhattisgarh                      |                                                                        | 1,452           |
|       22 | Punjab                            |                                                                        | 941             |
|       23 | Meghalaya                         |                                                                        | 648             |
|       24 | Haryana                           |                                                                        | 628             |
|       25 | Himachal Pradesh                  |                                                                        | 565             |
|       26 | Manipur                           |                                                                        | 272             |
|       27 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli at Silvasa |                                                                        | 159             |
|       28 | Chandigarh                        |                                                                        | 39              |
|       29 | Diu And Daman                     |                                                                        | 26              |
|       30 | Mizoram                           |                                                                        | 26              |

| 31.   | Sikkim              | 2         |
|-------|---------------------|-----------|
| 32.   | Andaman And Nicobar | 0         |
| Total | Total               | 21,90,017 |

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