Lok Sabha Question No. 1078 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-03
Subject: Judicial Reforms
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Sunil Kumar Pintu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †1078 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 3rd  DECEMBER, 2021

## JUDICIAL REFORMS

## †1078. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR PINTU:

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

- (a) the progress made in reducing the pendency of cases in courts across the country;
- (b)  whether  any  reforms  have  been  undertaken  by  the  Government  to strengthen the judicial system across the country; and
- (c)  if so, the details thereof along with the improvement observed as a result of such steps taken by the Government?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a) to (c): Disposal  of  pending  cases  in  courts  is  within  the  domain  of  the judiciary.  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. Timely  disposal  of  cases  in  courts  depends  on  several  factors  which,  inter-alia, include availability of adequate number of judges and judicial officers, 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. There are several other factors  which  may  lead  to  delay  in  disposal  of  cases.    These,  inter-alia,  include vacancies  of  judges,  frequent  adjournments  and  lack  of  adequate  arrangement  to monitor,  track  and  bunch  cases  for  hearing.  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.

National  Mission  for  Justice  Delivery  and  Legal  Reforms  was  set  up  in August, 2011 with the twin objectives of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities.  The Mission has been pursuing a co-ordinated  approach  for  phased  liquidation  of  arrears  and  pendency  in  judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures  in  the  areas  prone  to excessive  litigation,  re-engineering  of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.

The major steps taken during the last six years under various initiatives are as follows:

(i) Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs. 8,709.77 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure  Facilities  for  Judiciary  in  1993-94.  The  number  of  court  halls  has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 20,565 as on 31.10.2021 and number of residential  units  has  increased  from  10,211  as  on  30.06.2014  to  18,142  as  on 31.10.2021 under this scheme. In addition, 2,841 court halls and 1,807 residential units are under construction. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the Development of  Infrastructure  Facilities  for  Judiciary  has  been  extended  till  2025-26  at  a  total cost of Rs. 9000 crores, out of which Central share will be Rs. 5307 crores. Besides, construction of Court Halls and Residential Units, it would also cover construction of Lawyer's Halls, Toilet Complexes and Digital Computer Rooms.

## (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 computerized  District &  Subordinate  courts has increased to 18,735  as  on 01.07.2021.  WAN  connectivity  has  been  provided  to  98.7%  of  court  complexes. New and user-friendly version of Case Information Software has been developed and  deployed  at  all  the  computerized  District  and  Subordinate  Courts.    All stakeholders including Judicial Officers can access information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions  of  computerized  District  &  Subordinate  Courts  and  High Courts on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). As on 01.11.2021, litigants can access  case  status  of  over  19.56  crore  cases  and  15.72  crore  order/judgements pertaining  to  these  courts.  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 computerized  courts,  eCourts  Mobile  App,  email  service,  SMS  push  &  pull services.  Video  Conferencing  facility  has  been  enabled  between  3240  court complexes  and  1272  corresponding  jails.  With  a  view  to  handle  the  COVID-  19 challenges better and to make the transition to virtual hearings smoother, funds have been provided for setting up 235 e-Sewa Kendras at court complexes to facilitate lawyers and litigants needing assistance ranging from case status, getting judgements/orders,    court/case  related  information  and  efiling  facilities.  Rs.  5.01 crores has been allocated for providing equipment in Video Conferencing cabins in various  court  complexes  to  facilitate  virtual  hearings.  Rs.  12.12  crores  has  been allocated for 1732 Help desk counters for efiling in various court complexes.

Fifteen  Virtual  Courts  have  been  set  up  in  11  States/UTs  viz.  Delhi  (2), Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala (2), Maharashtra (2), Assam, Chhattisgarh,  Jammu  &  Kashmir  (2),  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Odisha  to  try  traffic offences. As on 01.11.2021, these courts have handled more than 99 lakh cases and realised more than Rs.193.15 crore in fines.

Video conferencing emerged as the mainstay of the Courts during the Covid lockdown  period  as  physical  hearings  and  normal  court  proceedings  in  the congregational mode were not possible. Since Covid lockdown started, the District courts  heard  1,01,77,289  cases  while  the  High  Court  heard  55,24,021  cases (totalling to 1.57 crore) till 31.10.2021 using video conferencing only. The Supreme Court had 1,50,692 hearings since the lockdown period upto 29.10.2021.

(iii) Filling  up  of  vacant  positions  in  Supreme  Court,  High  Courts  and District and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 29.11.2021, 44 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 688 new Judges were appointed and 583 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  1098  currently. Sanctioned  and  working  strength  of  Judicial  Officers  in  District  and  Subordinate Courts has increased as follows:

| As on      | Sanctioned Strength   | Working Strength   |
|------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 31.12.2013 | 19,518                | 15,115             |
| 29.11.2021 | 24,485                | 19,294             |

However,  filling  up  of  vacancies  in  Subordinate  judiciary  falls  within  the domain of the State Governments and High Courts concerned.

- (iv) Reduction in Pendency through / follow up by Arrears Committees: 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. In the past, Minister  of  Law  &  Justice  has  taken  up  the  matter  with  Chief  Justices  of  High

Courts and Chief Ministers in the past drawing their attention to cases pending for more than five years and to take up pendency reduction campaign. The Department has developed an online portal for reporting by all High Courts on the compliance of Arrears Eradication Scheme guidelines of the Malimath Committee Report.

(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.  As  on 31.10.2021, 914 Fast Track Courts are functional for heinous crimes, crimes against women  and  children  etc.  To  fast  track  criminal  cases  involving  elected  MPs  / MLAs,  ten  (10)  Special  Courts  are  functional  in  nine  (9)  States/UTs  (1  each  in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,  Uttar Pradesh, West  Bengal  and  2  in NCT  of  Delhi).  Further, Government has approved a scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country for expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape under IPC  and  crimes  under  POCSO  Act.  As  on  date,  28  States/UTs  have  joined  the scheme  for  setting  up  of  842  FTSCs  including  363  'exclusive  POCSO  Courts'. Rs.140 crore was released in the financial year 2019-20 and Rs. 160.00 crore has been  released  during  the  financial  year  2020-21  for  the  scheme.  681  FTSCs  are presently functional including 381 exclusive POCSO Courts, which disposed 64217 cases  as  on  31.10.2021.  The  continuation  of  the  Scheme  of  FTSC  has  been approved for  another  two  years  (2021-23)  at  a  total  outlay  of  Rs.  1572.86  crore, including Rs. 971.70 crore as Central share.

(vii) In addition, to reduce pendency and unclogging of the courts, the Government  has  recently  amended  various  laws  like  the  Negotiable  Instruments (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  the  Commercial  Courts  (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018.

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