Lok Sabha Question No. 1561 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-10
Subject: Long Pending Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Pratima Mondal, Naranbhai Bhikhabhai Kachhadiya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1561

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 10 TH FEBRUARY, 2023

## LONG PENDING CASES

## 1561. SHRIMATI PRATIMA MONDAL: SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA:

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

- (a) the number of criminal and civil cases pending in the High Courts and Supreme Court  of  India  separately  along  with  the  number  of  under  trials  in  the  country, State-wise;
- (b) the number of cases pending for less than 10 years, 10 to 20 years and more than 20 years in the country, court and category-wise; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to resolve long pending cases?

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

- (a): As per the information provided by the Supreme Court of India retrieved from the Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS), there were 69,511 pending cases in the Supreme Court as on 01.02.2023 out of which 55,015 are civil cases and 14,496 are criminal cases.

In the case of High Courts, presently there are total 59,77,361 cases pending out of  which  there  are  42,90,686  civil  cases  and  16,86,675  criminal  cases  as  per  the information available on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) on 7 th February, 2023.

The detailed State-wise statement of under trials as provided by Ministry of Home Affairs as retrieved from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in the country as on 31.12.2021is placed at Annexure-I .

(b): The detailed statement of information, category-wise, regarding number of cases pending for less than 10 years, 10 to 20 years and more than 20 years  in the Supreme Court,High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts is at Annexure -II .

(c): The  disposal  of  pending  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  High  Courts  lies exclusively within the domain of the judiciary. The Central Government has no direct role in the matter.

However,  the  Government  has  taken  several  initiatives  to  provide  suitable environment  for  expeditious  disposal  of  cases  by  the  judiciary.  Central  Government started  the  National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms 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.

The major steps taken under various initiatives of the Department of Justice to assist in  reducing/minimizing the pendency of cases in the courts and their outcomes are as follows:

- i. Improving  infrastructure  for  Judicial  Officers  of  District  and  Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs. 9490.45 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  for  Development  of  Infrastructure

Facilities for the Judiciary in 1993-94. The number of court halls has increased from  15,818  as  on  30.06.2014  to  21,245  as  on  30.01.2023,  and  number  of residential  units  has  increased  from  10,211  as  on  30.06.2014  to  18,726  as  on 30.01.2023, under this scheme. In addition, 2,780 court halls and 1652 residential units are under construction (as per NyayaVikas Portal). The Centrally Sponsored Scheme for  the  Development  of  Infrastructure  Facilities  for  Judiciary  has  been extended till 2025-26 at a total cost of Rs. 9,000 crores, out of which the central share  will  be  Rs.  5,307  crores.  Besides,  the  construction  of  court  halls  and residential  units,  it  would  also  cover  the  construction  of  lawyer's  halls,  toilet complexes, and digital computer rooms.

- ii. Leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for improved justice delivery: The Government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project throughout the country for information and communication technology  enablement  of district and subordinate courts.  The  number  of computerised district & subordinate courts has increased to 18,735 so far. WAN connectivity  has  been  provided  to  99.4%  of  court  complexes.  New  and  userfriendly 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 02.02.2023, litigants can access the case status of  over  22.09  crore  cases  and  20.43  crore  orders/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 the eCourts web portal, Judicial Service Centers (JSC) in all computerized courts, the eCourts  Mobile  App,  email  service,  and  SMS  push,  and  pull  services.  A  video conferencing facility has been enabled between 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 corresponding jails. With a view to handling the COVID- 19 challenges better and

making the transition to virtual hearings smoother, 619 e-SewaKendras 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 crore has been allocated for providing equipment in video conferencing cabins in various court complexes to facilitate virtual hearings. Rs. 12.12 crore has been allocated for 1,732 help desk counters for efiling in various court complexes.

21 virtual courts have been set up in 17 States/UTs viz. Delhi (2), Haryana, Tamil  Nadu,  Karnataka,  Kerala  (2),  Maharashtra  (2),  Assam,  Chhattisgarh, Jammu  &  Kashmir  (2),  Uttar  Pradesh,  Odisha,  Meghalaya,  Himachal  Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, West Bengal, and Rajasthan to try traffic offences. As on 02.01.2023, these courts have handled more than 2.40 crore cases and realized more than Rs. 347.86 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 began, the district courts heard 1,82,20,040 cases while the high courts heard 77,01,697 cases (total 2.59  crore)  via  video  conferencing  till  30.12.2022.  The  Supreme  Court  had 3,79,954 hearings since the lockdown period upto 24.12.2022.

- iii. Filling  up  of  vacant  positions  in  Supreme  Court,  High  Courts  and  District and  Subordinate  Courts: From  01.05.2014  to  06.02.2023,  52  Judges  were appointed in Supreme Court. 870 new judges were appointed and 626 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  1108  currently. sanctioned  and  working  strength  of  judicial  officers  in  district  and  subordinate courts has increased as follow:

| As on      | Sanctioned Strength   | Working Strength   |
|------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 31.12.2013 | 19,518                | 15,115             |
| 06.02.2023 | 25,135                | 19,376             |

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  a  Resolution  passed  in  Chief  Justices'  Conference  held  in  April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in all 25 High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years.  Arrears Committees have been set up under District courts as well.  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 the Chief  Justices  of  High  Courts  and  the  Chief  Ministers  of  states  drawing  their attention to the cases pending for more than five years and to take up pendency reduction campaign. The Department of Justice 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. 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 31.12.2022, 848 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,  the central government has approved a scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country for the expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape under IPC and crimes under POCSO Act. As on date, 28 States/UTs have joined the scheme. Rs.140 crore was released in the financial year 2019-20, Rs. 160 crore has been released during the financial year 2020-21 and Rs. 134.557 crore  has  been  released  during  the  financial  year  2021-22  for  the  scheme  Rs. 186.93  crore  has  been  released  during  currant  FY  upto  December,  2022.  768 FTSC  are  functional  including  418  exclusive  POCSO  Courts,  which  disposed more than 1,37,000 cases as on 31.12.2022.

- vi. 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.
- vii. Emphasis  on  Alternate  Dispute  Resolution  (ADR): Commercial  Courts  Act, 2015  (as  amended  on  20 th August,  2018)  stipulates  mandatory  Pre-institution Mediation  and  Settlement  (PIMS)  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.
- viii. LokAdalat is an important Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanism available to common people. It is a forum where the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably.  Under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, an award made by a LokAdalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal lies against thereto before any court.  In order to reduce the pendency of cases in

courts  and  also  to  settle  the  disputes  at  pre-litigation  stage,  LokAdalats  are organized  by  Legal  Services  Institutions  at  such  intervals  as  it  deems  fit. LokAdalat is not a permanent establishment.  However, as per Section 19 of the LSA Act, 1987, LokAdalats are organized by Legal Services Institutions as per requirement.    National  LokAdalats  are  organized  simultaneously  in  all  Taluks, Districts and High Courts on a pre-fixed date.

The details of the case disposed off in LokAdalats during the last two years are as under:-

| Years   | Pre-litigation Cases   | Pending Cases   | Grand Total   |
|---------|------------------------|-----------------|---------------|
| 2021    | 72,06,294              | 55,81,743       | 1,27,88,037   |
| 2022    | 3,10,15,215            | 1,09,10,795     | 4,19,26,010   |
| Total   | 3,82,21,509            | 1,64,92,538     | 5,47,14,047   |

- ix. The Government launched the Tele-Law programme in 2017, which provided an effective and reliable e-interface platform connecting the needy and disadvantaged sections seeking legal advice and consultation with panel lawyers via  video  conferencing,  telephone  and  chat  facilities  available  at  the  Common Service Centres (CSCs) situated in Gram Panchayat and through Tele-Law mobile App.
- x. Efforts  have  been  made  to  institutionalize  pro  bono  culture  and  pro  bono lawyering the country. A technological framework has been put in place where advocates  volunteering  to  give  their  time  and  services  for  pro  bono  work  can

| Category                  | Total Advice Enabled   | %      |
|---------------------------|------------------------|--------|
| SC                        | 10,00,641              | 31.62% |
| ST                        | 5,62,169               | 17.77% |
| OBC                       | 9,26,006               | 29.26% |
| Women                     | 10,59,373              | 33.48% |
| General                   | 6,75,574               | 21.35% |
| As on 31 st January, 2023 | 31,64,390              |        |

register  as  Pro  Bono  Advocates  on  NyayaBandhu  (Android  &iOS  and  Apps). NyayaBandhu Services also available on UMANG Platform. Pro Bono Panel of advocates have been initiated in 21 High Courts at the State level. Pro Bono Clubs have been started in 69 select Laws Schools to instill Pro Bono culture in budding lawyers.

*****

ANNEXURE-I DETAILED  STATE-WISE  STATEMENT  OF  UNDER  TRIALS  IN  THE  COUNTRY  (as  on

## 31.12.2021)

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          |   Number of Undertrial Prisoners |
|-----------|-------------------|----------------------------------|
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH    |                             5831 |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH |                              121 |
| 3         | ASSAM             |                             7620 |
| 4         | BIHAR             |                            59577 |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH      |                            12288 |
| 6         | GOA               |                              481 |
| 7         | GUJARAT           |                            11599 |
| 8         | HARYANA           |                            18237 |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH  |                             2024 |
| 10        | JHARKHAND         |                            16249 |
| 11        | KARNATAKA         |                            11689 |
| 12        | KERALA            |                             4892 |
| 13        | MADHYA PRADESH    |                            29094 |
| 14        | MAHARASHTRA       |                            31752 |
| 15        | MANIPUR           |                              513 |
| 16        | MEGHALAYA         |                              866 |
| 17        | MIZORAM           |                              640 |
| 18        | NAGALAND          |                              326 |
| 19        | ODISHA            |                            18164 |
| 20        | PUNJAB            |                            19510 |
| 21        | RAJASTHAN         |                            17954 |
| 22        | SIKKIM            |                              302 |
| 23        | TAMIL NADU        |                            11706 |
| 24        | TELANGANA         |                             4796 |
| 25        | TRIPURA           |                              598 |
| 26        | UTTAR PRADESH     |                            90606 |
| 27        | UTTARAKHAND       |                             4674 |
| 28        | WEST BENGAL       |                            22577 |
| 29        | A & N ISLANDS     |                              158 |
| 30        | CHANDIGARH        |                              718 |
| 31        | DNH & DAMAN DIU   |                              177 |
| 32        | DELHI             |                            16665 |
| 33        | JAMMU & KASHMIR   |                             4531 |
| 34        | LADAKH            |                               16 |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP       |                                5 |
| 36        | PUDUCHERRY        |                              209 |
|           | TOTAL             |                           427165 |

Source:- Ministry of Home Affairs.

## Detailed statement regarding number of cases pending in the various Courts

| Name of Court                  | Cases pending for less than 10 years   | Cases pending for less than 10 years   | Cases pending for less than 10 years   | Cases pending for 10 to 20 years   | Cases pending for 10 to 20 years   | Cases pending for 10 to 20 years   | Cases pending for more than 20 years   | Cases pending for more than 20 years   | Cases pending for more than 20 years   |
|--------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
|                                | Civil                                  | Criminal                               | Total                                  | Civil                              | Criminal                           | Total                              | Civil                                  | Criminal                               | Total                                  |
| *Supreme Court                 | 58,085                                 | 58,085                                 | 58,085                                 | 6,652                              | 6,652                              | 6,652                              | 4,774                                  | 4,774                                  | 4,774                                  |
| **High Courts                  | 3289243                                | 1261794                                | 4551037                                | 788281                             | 343774                             | 1132055                            | 213162                                 | 81107                                  | 294269                                 |
| **District &Subordinate Courts | 10041675                               | 29238678                               | 39280353                               | 700124                             | 2778009                            | 3478133                            | 152546                                 | 517456                                 | 670002                                 |

* Source:- Supreme Court of India, data as on 01.02.2023 ** Source:- National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), data as on 07.02.2023

ANNEXURE -II