Lok Sabha Question No. 1650 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-16
Subject: Petitions and Contempt Cases in Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Ashok Kumar Rawat

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1650 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 16 TH  DECEMBER, 2022

## PETITIONS AND CONTEMPT CASES IN COURTS

## †1650. SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT:

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

- (a)  the  number  of  constitutional  Civil,  Labour,  Election,  Writ  Petitions,  Public Interest  Litigations,  Special  Leave  Petitions,  Contempt  of  Court  cases  pending  in the  Supreme Court and various High Courts during the last three years and the current year, court-wise, category-wise and State-wise;
- (b) the time since when these cases are pending;
- (c) the reasons behind delay in disposing of these cases;
- (d) the details of the action plan prepared in this regard; and
- (e) the number of such cases disposed of during the said period, year-wise?

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

- (a) & (b): The Supreme Court of India and the various High Courts do not maintain the last three years' data with respect to cases such as the number of constitutional Civil, Labour,  Election,  Writ  Petitions,  Public  Interest  Litigations,  Special  Leave  Petitions, Contempt of Court cases pending year-wise, rather the data is maintained as on date.

As per the information obtained from Supreme Court of India, the total number of pending cases pertaining to the Constitutional Bench, Labour, Election, Writ Petitions,

Public Interest Litigations, Special Leave Petitions, Contempt of Court cases in Supreme Court is placed at Annexure- I .

In case of various High Courts, the information is not maintained centrally in the Department of Justice. However, the pertinent information as available on the National Judicial  Data  Grid  (NJDG)  regarding  the  pending  cases  pertaining  to  the  Labour, Election, Writ  Petitions, Public Interest Litigations, Special Leave  Petitions (not applicable in case of High Courts), Contempt of Court cases are placed at Annexure-II.

(c): The disposal of pending cases in courts lies within the domain of the judiciary. The Government has no direct role in this regard.

The  delay  in  disposal  is  a  multi-faceted  problem.  With  an  increase  in  the population of the country and awareness among the public about their rights, filing of fresh cases is also increasing by leaps and bounds, year after year. Each case is distinct and  variable  in  nature,  therefore,  no  specific  timelines  can  be  determined  concerning disposal  of  cases.  Myriad  factors  come  into  play  in  deciding  the  disposal  of  cases  in courts 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.

(d): As per the inputs  obtained  from  the  Supreme  Court,  multi-pronged  endeavours are  being  launched  to  reduce  pendency  of  cases  in  the  near  future.  In  the  summer vacations, 2 division benches were constituted throughout and even old regular hearing matters were disposed off. Lately, special benches have been constituted to dispose of matters relating to Labour  disputes, Motor  Accidents  Claims  Tribunal  (MACT)

Compensation, Direct taxes, Indirect taxes and old Criminal appeals. A special drive is presently on to dispose of all old bail matters and Transfer petitions, at the earliest.

While, the disposal of pending cases in courts is within the exclusive domain of the judiciary, 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  by  adopting  to  the  practical  realities  in  the  society  and  localising  and simplifying the litigant centric justice delivery system in their jurisdiction. The 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  coordinated  approach  for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves  better  infrastructure  for  courts,  including  computerization,  an  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.

(e): As per the information obtained from the Supreme Court of India, the number of constitutional Civil, Labour, Election, Writ Petitions, Public Interest Litigations, Special Leave Petitions, Contempt of Court cases disposed cases for last three years and current year are placed at Annexure-III .

In case of the various High Courts, the information is not maintained centrally. The  number  of  constitutional  Civil,  Labour,  Election,  Writ  Petitions,  Public  Interest Litigations, Special Leave Petitions, Contempt of Court cases pending in the High Courts are only maintained as on date as per National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). The details regarding the  disposed  cases pertaining to  the  Labour,  Election,  Writ  Petitions,  Public Interest  Litigations,  Special  Leave  Petitions  (not  applicable  in  case  of  High  Courts), Contempt of Court cases are placed at Annexure-IV .

*****

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) & (B) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1650 FOR ANSWER ON 16.12.2022 REGARDING 'PETITIONS AND CONTEMPT CASES IN COURTS'

## Details of Cases pending in the Supreme Court of India across various categories

|   S.no. | Case Type                        |   No. of Pending Cases in Supreme Court (as on 13.12.2022) |
|---------|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Constitutional Bench             |                                                        498 |
|       2 | Labour                           |                                                       1667 |
|       3 | Election                         |                                                        487 |
|       4 | Writ Petitions                   |                                                       2209 |
|       5 | Public Interest Litigation (PIL) |                                                       2870 |
|       6 | Special Leave Petitions (SLP)    |                                                       4331 |
|       7 | Contempt of Court Cases          |                                                       1295 |

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) & (B) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  1650  FOR  ANSWER  ON  16.12.2022  REGARDING  'PETITIONS  AND CONTEMPT CASES IN COURTS'

## Details of Cases Pending in various High Courts across various categories as per NJDG.

| S. No.   | Name of High Court                | Case Type and Number of Cases Pending (as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Pending (as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Pending (as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Pending (as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Pending (as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Pending (as on 14.12.2022)   |
|----------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
|          |                                   | Constitutio nal Civil                                      | Labour                                                     | Election                                                   | Writ Petitions                                             | Public Interest Litigation                                 | Contempt of Court (as per Contempt of Courts Act)          |
| 1        | Allahabad High Court              | Not available as per NJDG                                  | -                                                          | 39                                                         | 377455                                                     | 4805                                                       | -                                                          |
| 2        | High Court Of Rajasthan           |                                                            | -                                                          | 7                                                          | 170132                                                     | -                                                          | 2052                                                       |
| 3        | High Court for State of Telangana |                                                            | -                                                          | 39                                                         | 144038                                                     | 589                                                        | 6236                                                       |
| 4        | High Court of Madhya Pradesh      |                                                            | -                                                          | 19                                                         | 126470                                                     | -                                                          | -                                                          |
| 5        | Bombay High Court                 |                                                            | -                                                          | 128                                                        | 117624                                                     | 1922                                                       | -                                                          |
| 6        | High Court of Punjab and Haryana  |                                                            | -                                                          | 3                                                          | 98165                                                      | 157                                                        | -                                                          |
| 7        | High Court of Karnataka           |                                                            | -                                                          | 14                                                         | 79734                                                      | -                                                          | -                                                          |
| 8        | Calcutta High Court               |                                                            | -                                                          | 22                                                         | 76864                                                      | 549                                                        | 550                                                        |
| 9        | Orissa High Court                 |                                                            | -                                                          | 26                                                         | 73322                                                      | -                                                          | 1454                                                       |
| 10       | Patna High Court                  |                                                            | -                                                          | 37                                                         | 70270                                                      | -                                                          | 6554                                                       |
| 11       | Madras High Court                 |                                                            | -                                                          | 18                                                         | 69005                                                      | -                                                          | -                                                          |
| 12       | High Court of Kerala              |                                                            | 153                                                        | 5                                                          | 67572                                                      | -                                                          | -                                                          |
| 13       | High Court Of Chhattisgarh        |                                                            | 1087                                                       | 2                                                          | 35228                                                      | 307                                                        | -                                                          |
| 14       | High Court of Delhi               |                                                            | -                                                          | 457                                                        | 32419                                                      | -                                                          | -                                                          |
| 15       | Gauhati High Court                |                                                            | -                                                          | 7                                                          | 24906                                                      | 216                                                        | -                                                          |
| 16       | High Court of Jharkhand           |                                                            | -                                                          | 6                                                          | 24077                                                      | -                                                          | -                                                          |
| 17       | High Court of Jammu and Kashmir   |                                                            | -                                                          | 7                                                          | 18098                                                      | 164                                                        | 275                                                        |
| 18       | High Court of Himachal Pradesh    |                                                            | -                                                          | 4                                                          | 16800                                                      | 163                                                        | -                                                          |
| 19       | High Court of Uttarakhand         |                                                            | -                                                          | 6                                                          | 15737                                                      | 567                                                        | -                                                          |
| 20       | High Court of Manipur             |                                                            | -                                                          | 68                                                         | 2357                                                       | 57                                                         | -                                                          |
| 21       | High Court of Tripura             |                                                            | -                                                          | -                                                          | 746                                                        | 13                                                         | -                                                          |
| 22       | High Court of Meghalaya           |                                                            | -                                                          | -                                                          | 632                                                        | 17                                                         | -                                                          |
| 23       | High Court of Gujarat             |                                                            | -                                                          | 22                                                         | 533                                                        | 533                                                        | -                                                          |
| 24       | High Court of Andhra Pradesh      |                                                            | -                                                          | 23                                                         | 110                                                        | -                                                          | 11348                                                      |
| 25       | High Court of Sikkim              |                                                            | -                                                          | -                                                          | 77                                                         | 4                                                          | -                                                          |
|          | GRAND TOTAL                       |                                                            | 1240                                                       | 959                                                        | 1642371                                                    | 10063                                                      | 28469                                                      |

Annexure - III

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (E)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1650 FOR ANSWER ON 16.12.2022 REGARDING 'PETITIONS AND CONTEMPT CASES IN COURTS'

## Details of Cases Disposed in the Supreme Court of India across various categories

| S.no.   | Case Type                        |   No. of Disposed Cases in Supreme Court |   No. of Disposed Cases in Supreme Court |   No. of Disposed Cases in Supreme Court | No. of Disposed Cases in Supreme Court   |
|---------|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|         |                                  |                                     2019 |                                     2020 |                                     2021 | 2022 (upto 13.12.2022)                   |
| 1       | Constitutional Bench             |                                       50 |                                      130 |                                        8 | 10                                       |
| 2       | Labour                           |                                     1163 |                                      490 |                                      641 | 1024                                     |
| 3       | Election                         |                                      344 |                                      209 |                                      301 | 286                                      |
| 4       | Writ Petitions                   |                                     1452 |                                     1146 |                                     1326 | 1316                                     |
| 5       | Public Interest Litigation (PIL) |                                      836 |                                      756 |                                      532 | 974                                      |
| 6       | Special Leave Petitions (SLP)    |                                    26318 |                                    12122 |                                    16675 | 29866                                    |
| 7       | Contempt of Court Cases          |                                      911 |                                      298 |                                      484 | 1590                                     |

Annexure - IV

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (E)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1650 FOR ANSWER ON 16.12.2022 REGARDING 'PETITIONS AND CONTEMPT CASES IN COURTS'

Details  of  Cases  Disposed  in  various  High  Courts  across  various  categories  as  per NJDG.

| S. No   | Name of High Court                | Case Type and Number of Cases Disposed ( as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Disposed ( as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Disposed ( as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Disposed ( as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Disposed ( as on 14.12.2022)   | Case Type and Number of Cases Disposed ( as on 14.12.2022)   |
|---------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No   | Name of High Court                | Constitutional Civil                                         | Labour                                                       | Election                                                     | Writ Petitions                                               | Public Interest Litigation                                   | Contempt of Court (as per Contempt of Courts Act)            |
| 1       | Allahabad High Court              | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 239                                                          | 2415843                                                      | 24790                                                        | -                                                            |
| 2       | High Court Of Rajasthan           | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 85                                                           | 599158                                                       | -                                                            | 772                                                          |
| 3       | High Court for State of Telangana | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 102                                                          | 800078                                                       | 2377                                                         | 4218                                                         |
| 4       | High Court of Madhya Pradesh      | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 558                                                          | 774970                                                       | -                                                            | -                                                            |
| 5       | Bombay High Court                 | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 866                                                          | 576953                                                       | 6784                                                         | -                                                            |
| 6       | High Court of Punjab and Haryana  | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 24                                                           | 582434                                                       | 726                                                          | -                                                            |
| 7       | High Court of Karnataka           | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 146                                                          | 589093                                                       | -                                                            | -                                                            |
| 8       | Calcutta High Court               | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 46                                                           | 794012                                                       | 489                                                          | 378                                                          |
| 9       | Orissa High Court                 | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 65                                                           | 597347                                                       | -                                                            | 3759                                                         |
| 10      | Patna High Court                  | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 236                                                          | 531285                                                       | -                                                            | 1267                                                         |
| 11      | Madras High Court                 | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 109                                                          | 799562                                                       | -                                                            | -                                                            |
| 12      | High Court of Kerala              | Not available as per NJDG                                    | 220                                                          | 82                                                           | 903411                                                       | -                                                            | -                                                            |
| 13      | High Court Of Chhattisgarh        | Not available as per NJDG                                    | 2297                                                         | 64                                                           | 179887                                                       | 1121                                                         | -                                                            |
| 14      | High Court of Delhi               | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 6235                                                         | 251748                                                       | -                                                            | -                                                            |
| 15      | Gauhati High Court                | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 109                                                          | 179799                                                       | 1810                                                         | -                                                            |
| 16      | High Court of Jharkhand           | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 72                                                           | 154712                                                       | -                                                            | -                                                            |
| 17      | High Court of Jammu and Kashmir   | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 40                                                           | 147943                                                       | 789                                                          | 95                                                           |
| 18      | High Court of Himachal Pradesh    | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 108                                                          | 119793                                                       | 934                                                          | -                                                            |
| 19      | High Court of                     | Not available as per NJDG                                    | -                                                            | 31                                                           | 146402                                                       | 2177                                                         | -                                                            |

|    | Uttarakhand                  |      |      |          |       |       |
|----|------------------------------|------|------|----------|-------|-------|
| 20 | High Court of Manipur        | -    | 29   |    27194 | 602   | -     |
| 21 | High Court of Tripura        | -    | -    |    12887 | 157   | -     |
| 22 | High Court of Meghalaya      | -    | 3    |     5169 | 113   | -     |
| 23 | High Court of Gujarat        | -    | 152  |     2372 | 2372  | -     |
| 24 | High Court of Andhra Pradesh | -    | 50   |        7 | -     | -     |
| 25 | High Court of Sikkim         | -    | -    |      674 | 108   | -     |
|    | GRAND TOTAL                  | 2517 | 9451 | 11192733 | 45349 | 10489 |