Lok Sabha Question No. 3897 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-25
Subject: Speedy Disposal of the Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Keshari Devi Patel

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †3897 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 25 TH  MARCH, 2022

## SPEEDY DISPOSAL OF THE CASES

## †3897. SHRIMATI KESHARI DEVI PATEL:

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

- (a) the details of the steps taken for quick disposal/ redressal of cases in the courts;
- (b)  the  reason  for  not  giving  decisions  so  far  in  those  cases  in  which  hearing  was completed even before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic;
- (c)  the  reason behind pendency of decisions of cases despite all facilities being made available in courts;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  issued/proposes  to  issue  guidelines  for  disposal  of cases within fixed time frame; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

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

(a) to (e): 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.

After announcement of nation-wide lockdown from 25 th March, 2020, directions have been  issued  from  time  to  time  by  the  respective  High  Courts  to  the  Subordinate  Courts under  their  administrative  jurisdiction  for  hearing  of  urgent  civil  and  criminal  matters  in virtual  or  physical  mode  depending  on  local  conditions.  Most  High  Courts  have  further advised  district  and  subordinate  courts  that  where  there  is  no  shut  down/lockdown,  they may, as far as possible, resume normal functioning by virtual/physical mode and take up all kind  of  cases,  including  those  pertaining  to  under-trial  prisoners,  trial  of  civil  cases, matrimonial disputes, child custody matters, recording of evidence and other old matters. Wherever  physical  hearing  was  permitted  in  district  and  subordinate  courts,  they  were advised  to  strictly  adhere  to  Covid  protocols  and  social  distancing  norms  and  take  all precautions including consent of the parties. A new Software Patch and Court User Manual has been developed for COVID- 19 Management. This tool has been developed to help in smart  scheduling  all  cases  to  effectively  manage  overcrowding  in  courts.  As  regards  the Supreme Court, an overarching order has been issued by the Supreme Court on 06.04.2020 giving legal sanctity and validity to video conference hearing.

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  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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