Lok Sabha Question No. 2569 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-04
Subject: Pending Court Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Arvind Dharmapuri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2569 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 04 th  AUGUST, 2021

## PENDING COURT CASES

## 2569. SHRI ARVIND DHARMAPURI:

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

- (a) whether the Government maintains a record of the number of cases pending in the courts situated in India;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof, States/UTs wise;
- (c) whether the Government, on its part, is taking steps to faster the delivery of justice in India; and
- (d)  if so, the details thereof?

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

(a)  &  (b):  The  information  on  pending  cases  as  available  on  National  Judicial  Data Grid  (NJDG)  in  respect  of  High  Courts  and  Subordinate  Courts,  State/UTs-wise,  is enclosed  at Annexure-I  &  Annexure-II respectively.  The  total  number  of  cases pending in the Hon'ble Supreme Court is 69,212 as on 02.07.2021.

(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.  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.  8,644.00  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  20,218  as  on  22.07.2021  and  number  of  residential  units  has increased  from  10,211  as  on  30.06.2014  to  17,815  as  on  22.07.2021  under  this scheme.  In  addition,  2,693  court  halls  and  1,852  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 from 13,672 (in 2014) to 18,735 as on 01.07.2021,  registering  an  increase  of  5,063.    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 01.07.2021, litigants can access case status of over 18.77 crore cases and 14.61 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  eSewaKendras  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.

Twelve  Virtual  Courts  have  been  set  up  at  Delhi  (2  courts),  Faridabad (Haryana), Pune & Nagpur (Maharashtra) Kochi (Kerala), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Guwahati  (Assam)  and  Bengaluru  (Karnataka)  to  try  traffic  offences.  As  on 12.07.2021, these courts have handled 75 lakh cases and realised Rs.160.05 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 74,15,989 cases while the High Court heard 40,43,300 cases (totalling to  1.14  crore)  till  30.06.2021 using video conferencing only. The Supreme Court had 96,239 hearings since the lockdown period upto 09.07.2021.

- (iii) Filling  up  of  vacant  positions  in  Supreme  Court,  High  Courts  and  District  and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 01.03.2021, 35 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 602 new Judges were appointed and 551Additional 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             |
| 29.07.2021 | 24,368                | 19,259             |

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.

Further Communications have been addressed by Minister of Law & Justice to Chief Justices of High Courts and to Chief Ministers on 20.06.2014 and 14.08.2018 drawing their attention  to cases pending for  more than five  years  and to take up pendency reduction campaign.

- (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 30.04.2021, 870 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. Rs. 39.77 crore has been released till June 2021 for Financial  Year  2021-22.  640  FTSCs  are  functional  including  338  exclusive POCSO Courts, which disposed 50484 cases as on 31.05.2021.
- (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.

*****

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO    PARTS  (A)  &  (B)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2569 FOR ANSWER ON 04.08.2021 REGARDING  PENDING COURT CASES

| Sl.No.   | High Court Name                          |   Pendency as on 29.07.2021 |
|----------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1.       | Allahabad High Court                     |                      799139 |
| 2.       | Bombay High Court                        |                      559314 |
| 3.       | Calcutta High Court                      |                      268476 |
| 4.       | Gauhati High Court                       |                       53570 |
| 5.       | High Court for state of Telangana        |                      247976 |
| 6.       | High Court of Andhra Pradesh             |                      215093 |
| 7.       | High Court of Chhattisgarh               |                       77840 |
| 8.       | High Court of Delhi                      |                      101658 |
| 9.       | High Court of Gujarat                    |                      151022 |
| 10.      | High Court of Himachal Pradesh           |                       79832 |
| 11.      | High Court for Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh |                       53462 |
| 12.      | High Court of Jharkhand                  |                       86229 |
| 13.      | High Court of Karnataka                  |                      283240 |
| 14.      | High Court of Kerala                     |                      221248 |
| 15.      | High Court of Madhya Pradesh             |                      404250 |
| 16.      | High Court of Manipur                    |                        4685 |
| 17.      | High Court of Meghalaya                  |                        1382 |
| 18.      | High Court of Punjab &Haryana            |                      698588 |
| 19.      | High Court of Rajasthan                  |                      554343 |
| 20.      | High Court of Sikkim                     |                         221 |
| 21.      | High Court of Tripura                    |                        1508 |
| 22.      | High Court of Uttarakhand                |                       40814 |
| 23.      | Madras High Court                        |                      582599 |
| 24.      | Orissa High Court                        |                      175710 |
| 25.      | Patna High Court                         |                      214433 |
|          | Total                                    |                     5876632 |

Source: National Judicial Data Grid.

## Annexure-II

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO    PARTS  (A)  &  (B)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2569 FOR ANSWER ON 04.08.2021 REGARDING  PENDING COURT CASES

| Sl.No.   | State/UT             | Pendency as on 29.07.2021   |
|----------|----------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh       | 7,10,627                    |
| 2.       | Arunachal Pradesh*   | ----                        |
| 3.       | Assam                | 3,78,101                    |
| 4.       | Bihar                | 33,15,499                   |
| 5.       | Chandigarh           | 64,397                      |
| 6.       | Chhattisgarh         | 3,58,540                    |
| 7.       | Delhi                | 10,48,718                   |
| 8.       | Diu and Daman        | 2,994                       |
| 9.       | DNH at Silvasa       | 3,591                       |
| 10.      | Goa                  | 59,998                      |
| 11.      | Gujarat              | 20,38,575                   |
| 12.      | Haryana              | 12,27,281                   |
| 13.      | Himachal Pradesh     | 4,51,778                    |
| 14.      | Jammu and Kashmir    | 2,45,039                    |
| 15.      | Jharkhand            | 4,78,545                    |
| 16.      | Karnataka            | 19,49,413                   |
| 17.      | Kerala               | 19,89,297                   |
| 18.      | Ladakh               | 833                         |
| 19.      | Lakshadweep*         | ----                        |
| 20.      | Madhya Pradesh       | 17,55,610                   |
| 21.      | Maharashtra          | 49,20,820                   |
| 22.      | Manipur              | 11,916                      |
| 23.      | Meghalaya            | 10,823                      |
| 24.      | Mizoram              | 4,961                       |
| 25.      | Nagaland             | 2,489                       |
| 26.      | Odisha               | 14,62,304                   |
| 27.      | Puducherry           | 34,456                      |
| 28.      | Punjab               | 9,18,667                    |
| 29.      | Rajasthan            | 19,62,887                   |
| 30.      | Sikkim               | 1,853                       |
| 31.      | Tamil Nadu           | 12,95,249                   |
| 32.      | Telangana            | 7,51,958                    |
| 33.      | Tripura              | 41,680                      |
| 34.      | Uttar Pradesh        | 90,65,145                   |
| 35.      | Uttarakhand          | 2,84,535                    |
| 36.      | Andaman and Nicobar* | ----                        |
| 37.      | West Bengal          | 24,82,373                   |
|          | Total                | 3,93,30,952                 |

Source: National Judicial Data Grid.

*Data  in  respect  of  Andaman  &  Nicobar  Island,  Lakshadweep  and  Arunachal  Pradesh  are  not available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).