Lok Sabha Question No. 3793 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-25
Subject: Pending Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Khan Saumitra

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3793 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 25 TH  MARCH, 2022

## PENDING CASES

## 3793. SHRI SAUMITRA KHAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government maintains any record of the number of cases pending in the courts across the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, States/UTs-wise including West Bengal;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  is  taking  steps  for  speeding  up  justice  delivery  in  the country; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

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

- (a) & (b): The number of cases pending in Supreme Court of India and High Courts in the country is as under:-

|   Sl. No. | Name of Court          | Pendency as on           |
|-----------|------------------------|--------------------------|
|         1 | Supreme Court of India | 70,154 (02.03.2022)*     |
|         2 | High Courts            | 58,94,060 (21.03.2022)** |

Source *Website of Supreme Court of India.

**National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).

The number of cases pending in the District and Subordinate courts, State/UTs-wise including West Bengal is at Annexure .

- (c) & (d): 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  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,  reengineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.

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

(i) Improving  infrastructure  for  Judicial  Officers  of  District  and  Subordinate Courts: As  on  date,  Rs.  8,758.71  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 20,812 as on 17.03.2022 and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 18,338 as on 17.03.2022 under this scheme. In addition, 2,767 court halls and 1,651  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  so  far.  WAN  connectivity  has  been  provided  to  98.9%  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 02.03.2022, litigants can access case status of over 19.92 crore cases and 16.81 crore order/judgments 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, 475 e-Sewa Kendras have been set up at court  complexes  to  facilitate  lawyers  and  litigants  needing  assistance  ranging  from  case status,  getting  judgments/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.

Seventeen Virtual Courts have been set up in 13 States/UTs viz. Delhi (2), Haryana, Tamil  Nadu,  Karnataka,  Kerala  (2),  Maharashtra  (2),  Assam,  Chhattisgarh,  Jammu  & Kashmir (2), Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh to try traffic offences. As on 03.03.2022, these courts have handled more than 1.32 crore cases and realized more than Rs. 229.22 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 1,11,40,223 cases  while  the  High  Court  heard  60,21,688  cases  (totalling  to  1.71  crore)  till  30.01.2022 using  video  conferencing.  The  Supreme  Court  had  2,18,891  hearings  since  the  lockdown period upto 14.03.2022.

- (iii) Filling up of vacant positions in Supreme Court, High Courts and District and

Subordinate  Courts: From  01.05.2014  to  17.03.2022,  44  Judges  were  appointed  in Supreme  Court.  710  new  Judges  were  appointed  and  588  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  1104  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             |
| 21.03.2022 | 24,521                | 19,341             |

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 31.01.2022, 915 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 and Rs. 62.23 crore has been  released  during  the  FY  2021-22  upto  15.03.2022  for  the  scheme.  712  FTSCs  are presently functional including 399 exclusive POCSO Courts, which disposed 81462 cases as on 28.02.2022. 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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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (A)&(B)  OF  LOK SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3793  FOR  ANSWER  ON  25.03.2022 REGARDING PENDING CASES.

## Details of Pending Cases in the country State / UT-wise

| Sl. No   | Name of States/UTs       | Pending Cases (Civil)   | Pending Cases (Criminal)   | Total    |
|----------|--------------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------|----------|
| 1.       | Andman & Nicobar Islands | ---                     | ---                        | ---      |
| 2.       | Andhra Pradesh           | 415143                  | 368296                     | 783439   |
| 3.       | Telangana                | 332944                  | 478401                     | 811345   |
| 4.       | Arunachal Pradesh        | ---                     | ---                        | ---      |
| 5.       | Assam                    | 88515                   | 343217                     | 431732   |
| 6.       | Bihar                    | 487191                  | 2897490                    | 3384681  |
| 7.       | Chandigarh               | 23679                   | 48528                      | 72207    |
| 8.       | Chhattisgarh             | 71281                   | 311298                     | 382579   |
| 9.       | D & N Haveli             | 1771                    | 1900                       | 3671     |
| 10.      | Daman & Diu              | 1414                    | 1468                       | 2882     |
| 11.      | Delhi                    | 246452                  | 866898                     | 1113350  |
| 12.      | Goa                      | 25949                   | 31449                      | 57398    |
| 13.      | Gujarat                  | 448538                  | 1378895                    | 1827433  |
| 14.      | Haryana                  | 441567                  | 868069                     | 1309636  |
| 15.      | Himachal Pradesh         | 155044                  | 308267                     | 463311   |
| 16.      | Jammu & Kashmir          | 97023                   | 156818                     | 253841   |
| 17.      | Jharkhand                | 91362                   | 410071                     | 501433   |
| 18.      | Karnataka                | 869617                  | 950433                     | 1820050  |
| 19.      | Kerala                   | 517072                  | 1398014                    | 1915086  |
| 20.      | Ladakh                   | 482                     | 463                        | 945      |
| 21.      | Lakshadweep              | ---                     | ---                        | ---      |
| 22.      | Madhya Pradesh           | 386258                  | 1506484                    | 1892742  |
| 23.      | Maharashtra              | 1484543                 | 3354302                    | 4838845  |
| 24.      | Manipur                  | 8381                    | 4314                       | 12695    |
| 25.      | Meghalaya                | 4464                    | 11947                      | 16411    |
| 26.      | Mizoram                  | 2295                    | 3802                       | 6097     |
| 27.      | Nagaland                 | 493                     | 2311                       | 2804     |
| 28.      | Odisha                   | 307011                  | 1238345                    | 1545356  |
| 29.      | Punjab                   | 400945                  | 516507                     | 917452   |
| 30.      | Rajasthan                | 529362                  | 1552618                    | 2081980  |
| 31.      | Sikkim                   | 695                     | 1202                       | 1897     |
| 32.      | Tamil Nadu               | 775245                  | 619072                     | 1394317  |
| 33.      | Puducherry               | 14254                   | 19753                      | 34007    |
| 34.      | Tripura                  | 9388                    | 27267                      | 36655    |
| 35.      | Uttar Pradesh            | 1910258                 | 8251067                    | 10161325 |
| 36.      | Uttarakhand              | 44594                   | 274765                     | 319359   |
| 37.      | West Bengal              | 617762                  | 2033253                    | 2651015  |
|          | Total                    | 10810992                | 30236984                   | 41047976 |

Data Source:- National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)

Note: Data on District and Subordinate Courts in the State of Arunachal Pradesh and Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands are not available on the web-portal of NJDG.