Lok Sabha Question No. 1096 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-03
Subject: National Court Management System Committee
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Sajda Ahmed

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1096

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 3 RD  DECEMBER, 2021

## National Court Management System Committee

## 1096. SHRIMATI SAJDA AHMED:

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

- (a) whether the pendency, delay, and backlog of the cases are being faced due to lack of infrastructure in the courts across the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has evaluated the infrastructural condition of the courts  as  per  the  guidelines  set  up  by  the  National  Court  Management  System Committee 2012;
- (c) the funds spent during the last three years for the development of digital infrastructure of the courts,

State-wise;

- (d) the number  of  the  court  buildings, functioning  in rented  premises, State/UT-wise;
- (e) whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  set  up  National  Judicial Infrastructure Corporation; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

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

- (a): Disposal  of  cases  pending  in  various  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 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 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.

(b): The National Court Management System was constituted in the Supreme Court  in  May,  2012.    The  major  recommendations  of  the  NCMS  Committee include  preparation  of  Baseline  Reports  on  National  Framework  of  Court Excellence,  Case  Management  System,  Court  Development  Planning  System

&Human Resource Development Strategy.  So far as the Judicial Infrastructure facilities  are  concerned,  the  Union  Government  has  been  implementing  a Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  Development  of  Infrastructure  Facilities  in district and subordinate courts by providing financial assistance to State Governments  /  UTs  in  the  prescribed  fund  sharing  pattern  since  1993-94.  The scheme has been evaluated from time to time.The third party evaluation of the CSS for Judicial Infrastructure was got done through NITI Aayog recently, which recommended continuance of the scheme.

(c):      The  requisite  details  as  maintained  High  Court  wise  is  attached  at Annexure-I.

(d):  The requisite details are attached at Annexure-II.

(e)&(f): A  proposal  has  been  received  from  the  Chief  Justice  of  India  for setting  up  of  National  Judicial  Infrastructure  Authority  of  India  (NJIAI)  for arrangement of adequate infrastructure for courts, as per which there will be a Governing Body with Chief Justice of India as Patron-in-Chief. The other salient features in the proposal are that NJIAI willact as a Central body in laying down the road map for planning, creation, development, maintenance and management of  functional  infrastructure  for  the  Indian  Court  System,  besides,  identical structures  under  all  the  High  Courts.    Presently,  the  primary  responsibility  of development of Infrastructure facilities for judiciary rests with the State Governments.  To augment the resources of the State Governments, the Union

Government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development  of  Infrastructure  Facilities  in  district  and  subordinate  courts  by providing financial assistance to State Governments / UTs in the prescribed fund sharing  pattern.The  Scheme  is  being  implemented  since  1993-94.  Till  date  the Central  Government  has  sanctioned  Rs.  8709.77  crore  under  the  Scheme  to States/UTs. The scheme has been extended from time to time.  Under this scheme funds are released by theCentral Government for construction of court buildings and residential accommodations for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Judiciary. The Government has extended the above scheme for a further period of five  years  from  01.04.2021  to  31.03.2026,  with  a  total  budgetary  outlay  of Rs.9000 crores, including Central share of Rs.5307 crores. The scheme components have been expanded, to also cover the construction of toilets, digital computer rooms and Lawyers' Hall in the district and subordinate courts. As per information made available by the High Courts, 20,565 Court Halls and 18,142 Residential  Units  are  available  in  the  District  and  Subordinate  Courts  as  on 31.10.2021. Moreover, 2841 Court Halls and 1807 Residential Units are under construction.

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## Statement referred to  in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question no. 1096 for reply on 3 rd December 2021

## Status of High Court wise release of funds during last three years under the eCourts Project Phase-II

(Amount Rs. in crores)

| Sl No.   | High Court                  | FY 2018-19   | FY 2019-20   | FY 2020-21   |
|----------|-----------------------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| 1        | Allahabad                   | 8.07         | 15.04        | 13.79        |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh              | -            | -            | 1.96         |
| 3        | Bombay                      | 0.52         | -            | 8.86         |
| 4        | Calcutta                    | 0.13         | -            | 4.93         |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                | 1.33         | 4.44         | 2.34         |
| 6        | Delhi                       | 3.54         | -            | 3.00         |
| 7A       | Gauhati (Arunachal Pradesh) | 2.85         | 0.98         | 1.52         |
| 7B       | Gauhati (Assam)             | 8.70         | 13.68        | 6.11         |
| 7C       | Gauhati (Mizoram)           | 0.15         | 0.51         | 0.72         |
| 7D       | Gauhati (Nagaland)          | 0.71         | 0.70         | 0.83         |
| 8        | Gujarat                     | 10.73        | -            | 3.48         |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh            | 0.13         | -            | 2.00         |
| 10       | Jammu &Kashmir              | 0.26         | -            | 1.00         |
| 11       | Jharkhand                   | 4.53         | 5.53         | 2.98         |
| 12       | Karnataka                   | 0.61         | 9.15         | 4.29         |
| 13       | Kerala                      | 4.61         | -            | 2.83         |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh              | 0.39         | 11.21        | 6.28         |
| 15       | Madras                      | 5.11         | -            | 4.73         |
| 16       | Manipur                     | 0.65         | 0.61         | 1.30         |
| 17       | Meghalaya                   | 0.62         | 0.92         | 2.32         |
| 18       | Orissa                      | 1.59         | 13.46        | 3.37         |
| 19       | Patna                       | 0.13         | 7.08         | 5.44         |
| 20       | Punjab &Haryana             | 8.49         | -            | 4.55         |
| 21       | Rajasthan                   | 3.01         | 1.29         | 10.58        |
| 22       | Sikkim                      | 0.80         | 1.61         | 1.01         |
| 23       | Telangana& Andhra** Pradesh | 8.13         | -            | -            |
| 24       | Telangana                   | -            | -            | 1.79         |
| 25       | Tripura                     | 1.77         | 2.24         | 4.44         |
| 26       | Uttarakhand                 | 0.13         | -            | 1.28         |
|          | Total                       | 77.69        | 88.45        | 107.73       |

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## ANNEXURE-II

Statement referred to  in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question no. 1096 for reply on 3 rd December 2021

## State-wise Details of court buildings (District and subordinate courts) functioning in rented premises

| Sl. No.   | States &Union Territories   | No. of Court Halls in rented building   |
|-----------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh              | 71                                      |
| 2         | Assam                       | 15                                      |
| 3         | Chhattisgarh                | 9                                       |
| 4         | Goa                         | 8                                       |
| 5         | Gujarat                     | 33                                      |
| 6         | Haryana                     | 2                                       |
| 7         | Jammu and Kashmir           | 7                                       |
| 8         | Karnataka                   | 18                                      |
| 9         | Kerala                      | 46                                      |
| 10        | Ladakh                      | 1                                       |
| 11        | Madhya Pradesh              | 2                                       |
| 12        | Maharashtra                 | 87                                      |
| 13        | Meghalaya                   | 3                                       |
| 14        | Odisha                      | 1                                       |
| 15        | Punjab                      | 2                                       |
| 16        | Rajasthan                   | 35                                      |
| 17        | Sikkim                      | 1                                       |
| 18        | Tamil Nadu                  | 87                                      |
| 19        | Telangana                   | 72                                      |
| 20        | Uttar Pradesh               | 22                                      |
| 21        | Uttarakhand                 | 3                                       |
| 22        | West Bengal                 | 31                                      |
| TOTAL 556 | TOTAL 556                   | TOTAL 556                               |