Lok Sabha Question No. 245 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Pending Court Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 245

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 03 rd  FEBRUARY, 2021

## PENDING COURT CASES

## 245. DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN:

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

- (a) whether there has been an increase in pending cases load due to closure of courts  in  the  backdrop  of  COVID-19  pandemic  and  if  so,  the  details  of pending  cases  in  district  courts  and  high  courts  during  the  last  one  year, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government will strengthen Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)
- and if so, the steps taken in this regard;
- (c)  whether  the  new  ODR  scheme  will  also  resolve  COVID-19  induced disputes  such  as  employment,  commercial,  tenancy,  consumer  and  family disputes and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) if not, the manner in which the Government plan to resolve the problem of mounting cases due to closure of courts in an already overburdened judiciary; and
- (e) whether the Government will have a detailed and actionable strategic plan for filling up vacancies in Courts and if so, the details thereof and if not the reasons thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a): The details of pending cases in High Courts and District Courts during the last one year inlcuding Covid period State/UT wise is given at Annexure - I and Annexure-II respectively .
- (b) to (d): In order to create an effective implementation framework for Online Dispute  Resolution  (ODR)  in  India,  NITI  Aayog  in  June  2020,  had  set  up  a Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice A. K. Sikri, Retired Judge, Supreme

Court of India to develop an action plan that can aid in mainstreaming ODR and thus promote access to justice through ODR. The  Committee  has  placed    the  first draft  of  the  report  in  public  domain  in  November,  2020,  including  the  nature  of disputes that can be resolved like family disputes, real estate disputes, inheritance disputes, desputes regarding division of assets, consumer  disputes, tenancy disputes, labour and employment disputes,  banking and financial disputes, etc.

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, 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  five  years  under  various initiatives are as follows:

- (i) Improving  infrastructure  for  Judicial  Officers  of  District  and  Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs. 8,288.30 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  20,062  as  on  28.01.2021  and  number  of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to  17,736 as on 28.01.2021  under  this  scheme.  In  addition,  2,808  court  halls  and  1,843 residential units are under construction.
- (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 28.01.2021, 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 01.01.2021, litigants  can  access  case  status  of  over  17.90  crore  cases  and  13.36  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 e-SewaKendras 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.

Nine  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 20.01.2021, these courts  have handled  41,98,095 cases and realised Rs.139.25cr in fines.

- (iii) Filling up of vacant positions in Supreme Court, High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 25.01.2021, 35 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 570 new Judges were appointed and 520 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  1080  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             |
| 28.01.2021 | 24,247                | 19,318             |

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.
- (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 18.01.2021, Fast Track Courts are functional for heinous crimes, crimes against women and children, family and metrimonial disputes, 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)  and  proportionate  funds  have been  released  to  these  States  by  the  Government.  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  823  FTSCs  including    'exclusive  POCSO  Courts'. Rs.140 crore was released in the financial year 2019-20 and Rs. 89.89 crore has been released during the financial year 2020-21 for the scheme. Presently 609 FTSCs are functional including 331 exclusive POCSO Courts.

- (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.

(e): As  per  Memorandum  of  Procedure  (MoP),  initiation  of  proposal  for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justices of the concerned High Court who may initiate the proposal for  appointment  of  a  Judge  in  the  High  Court  at  least  six  months  prior  to  the occurrence of vacancies. Filling up of vacancies  in the Supreme Court and High Courts is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process, between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities. Hence,  time  frame  to appoint  Judges  cannot  be indicated. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously,  vacancies  in  High  Courts  do  keep  on  arising  on  account  of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges and increase in the Judge strength.

Under  Article  235  of  the  Constitution  of  India,  the  administrative  control over the members of district and subordinate judiciary in the States vest with the concerned High Court.  Further, in exercise of powers conferred under proviso to Article 309 read with Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution, the respective State Government, in consultation with the High Court, frames the Rules and Regulations  regarding  the  issues  of  appointment,  promotion,  reservations etc .  of Judicial Officers in the State Judicial Service.  Therefore, Central Government has no  role  in  this  regard.  However,  in  September,  2016,  Union  Minister  of  Law  & Justice wrote to the Chief Ministers of States and the Chief Justices of High Courts to enhance the cadre strength of the District and Subordinate Courts. The same was reiterated in May, 2017.  In August, 2018, in the context of increasing pendency of cases,  the  Union  Minister  of  Law  &  Justice  has  written  to  all  Chief  Justices  of High Courts to monitor the status of the vacancies regularly and to ensure proper coordination with the State Public Service Commission to fill up vacant posts as per time schedule prescribed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case.

Regular meetings have been  held by Department of Justice with Registrars General of all High Courts and Law Secretaries of all State Governments /Uts in January,  2018,  July,  2018,  November,  2018,  September,  2019  and  May,  2020 wherein steps taken to fill  up posts of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts have been reveiwed.

*****

## Details of Pending Cases in the High Court

| Sl. No   | Name of High Courts                      |   Number of Cases pending in High Courts as on 29.01.2020 |   of Cases in High as on |
|----------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
| 1.       | Allahabad High Court                     |                                                    732239 |                   771665 |
| 2.       | Calcutta High Court                      |                                                     21906 |                   269680 |
| 3.       | Gauhati High Court                       |                                                     47569 |                    51646 |
| 4.       | High Court for the State of Telangana    |                                                    219749 |                   236852 |
| 5.       | High Court of Andhra Pradesh             |                                                    196553 |                   209164 |
| 6.       | High Court of Bombay                     |                                                    267809 |                   545989 |
| 7.       | High Court of Chhattisgarh               |                                                     70233 |                    76412 |
| 8.       | High Court of Delhi                      |                                                     80047 |                    91195 |
| 9.       | High Court of Gujarat                    |                                                    129980 |                   145539 |
| 10.      | High Court of Himachal Pradesh           |                                                     58546 |                    74775 |
| 11.      | High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh |                                                     75613 |                    63548 |
| 12.      | High Court of Jharkhand                  |                                                     83699 |                    86692 |
| 13.      | High Court of Karnataka                  |                                                    248285 |                   289023 |
| 14.      | High Court of Kerala                     |                                                    198739 |                   215901 |
| 15.      | High Court of Madhya Pradesh             |                                                    361085 |                   366167 |
| 16.      | High Court of Manipur                    |                                                      3806 |                     4470 |
| 17.      | High Court of Meghalaya                  |                                                      1114 |                     1472 |
| 18.      | High Court of Punjab & Haryana           |                                                    541520 |                   645213 |
| 19.      | High Court of Rajasthan                  |                                                    472241 |                   529570 |
| 20.      | High Court of Sikkim                     |                                                       237 |                      242 |
| 21.      | High Court of Tripura                    |                                                      2373 |                     2347 |
| 22.      | High Court of Uttarakhand                |                                                     40060 |                    38676 |
| 23.      | Madras High Court                        |                                                    403176 |                   581555 |
| 24.      | Orissa High Court                        |                                                    151411 |                   171779 |
| 25.      | Patna High Court                         |                                                    173629 |                   188337 |
| Total    |                                          |                                                   4581619 |                  5657909 |

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

| Sl. No   | Name of States/UTs   | Total Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 29.01.2020   | Total Number of Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 28.01.2021   |
|----------|----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.       | A & N Island         | 0                                                                                   | 0                                                                                   |
| 2.       | Andhra Pradesh       | 564693                                                                              | 645518                                                                              |
| 3.       | Telangana            | 566407                                                                              | 686819                                                                              |
| 4.       | Arunachal Pradesh    | -------                                                                             | ---                                                                                 |
| 5.       | Assam                | 297372                                                                              | 361274                                                                              |
| 6.       | Bihar                | 2875713                                                                             | 3191323                                                                             |
| 7.       | Chandigarh           | 48262                                                                               | 59265                                                                               |
| 8.       | Chhattisgarh         | 279410                                                                              | 335230                                                                              |
| 9.       | D & N Haveli         | 3033                                                                                | 3413                                                                                |
| 10.      | Daman & Diu          | 2310                                                                                | 2828                                                                                |
| 11.      | Delhi                | 866265                                                                              | 978490                                                                              |
| 12.      | Goa                  | 24813                                                                               | 57311                                                                               |
| 13.      | Gujarat              | 1611359                                                                             | 1949686                                                                             |
| 14.      | Haryana              | 869120                                                                              | 1126576                                                                             |
| 15.      | Himachal Pradesh     | 290465                                                                              | 423074                                                                              |
| 16.      | Jammu & Kashmir      | 177254                                                                              | 218833                                                                              |
| 17.      | Jharkhand            | 386064                                                                              | 446803                                                                              |
| 18.      | Karnataka            | 1555617                                                                             | 1763930                                                                             |
| 19.      | Kerala               | 1294910                                                                             | 1841556                                                                             |
| 20.      | Ladakh               | 450                                                                                 | 768                                                                                 |
| 21.      | Lakshadweep          | ------                                                                              | ----                                                                                |
| 22.      | Madhya Pradesh       | 1449383                                                                             | 1719056                                                                             |
| 23.      | Maharashtra          | 3766400                                                                             | 4582365                                                                             |
| 24.      | Manipur              | 9826                                                                                | 11139                                                                               |
| 25.      | Meghalaya            | 8847                                                                                | 10410                                                                               |
| 26.      | Mizoram              | 2544                                                                                | 4710                                                                                |
| 27.      | Nagaland             | ---------                                                                           | 1562                                                                                |
| 28.      | Odisha               | 1244832                                                                             | 1398399                                                                             |
| 29.      | Punjab               | 639683                                                                              | 831225                                                                              |
| 30.      | Rajasthan            | 1699168                                                                             | 1863560                                                                             |
| 31.      | Sikkim               | 1302                                                                                | 1600                                                                                |
| 32.      | Tamil Nadu           | 1153262                                                                             | 1297274                                                                             |
| 33.      | Puducherry           | ----------                                                                          | ----                                                                                |
| 34.      | Tripura              | 25109                                                                               | 44534                                                                               |
| 35.      | Uttar Pradesh        | 7690966                                                                             | 8653883                                                                             |
| 36.      | Uttarakhand          | 208011                                                                              | 269058                                                                              |
| 37.      | West Bengal          | 2290464                                                                             | 2401947                                                                             |
| Total    | Total                | 31903314                                                                            | 37183419                                                                            |

Note: Data onDistrict and Subordinate Courts in the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry are not available on the web-portal of NJDG. Data in respect of Andaman & Nicobar Islands is not available on NJDG Portal

## Annexure - II