Pendency of cases in Judiciary

Q. Why is this in news?

A. Vice President of India recently expressed concern over growing pendency of cases at all level of Judiciary and urges government and judiciary to ensure faster and affordable justice.

Q. What is current status of pending cases in Indian Judiciary?

• According to the Economic Survey 2018-19 there are about 3.5 crore cases pending in the judicial system, especially in district and subordinate courts.
• About 87.54 per cent of the total pendency of cases is in the district and subordinate courts.
• The average disposal time for civil and criminal cases in Indian District & Subordinate courts in 2018 was 4.4 fold and 6 fold higher respectively when compared with the average of Council of Europe members (2016).

Q. What are problems in Indian judiciary?

• Huge vacancies in Judicial appointment
• The government is the biggest litigant.
• Less budgetary allocation: the budget allocated to the judiciary is between 0.08 and 0.09 per cent of the GDP.
• Lack of scientific and forensic investigation
• Poorly drafted orders have resulted in contested tax revenues equal to 4.7 per cent of the GDP and it is rising.
• Crowding out investment: Roughly Rs 50,000 crore are locked up in stalled projects and investments are reducing.

Q. What are some of reforms suggested?

• Mechanisms such as ADR (Alternate Dispute Resolution), Lok Adalats, Gram Nyayalayas should be effectively utilised.
• For enhancing productivity in the judiciary, the Economic Survey 2018-19 suggests:
• Increased number of working days;
• Establishment of Indian Courts and Tribunal Services to focus on the administrative aspects of the legal system;
• Deployment of technology to improve efficiency of the courts, e.g. eCourts Mission Mode Project and the National Judicial Data Grid being rolled-out in phases by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
• Better Case and Court Management:
• For expeditious service of notice and summons, the eCommittee of the Supreme Court launched a mobile application called National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP).
• Computerisation and Automation (e.g. Virtual Court in Delhi) to make justice delivery more responsive to the needs of litigants.
• Professional Court Managers as suggested by the 13th Finance Commission. Court managers or equivalent professionals are the need of the hour and justice delivery can improve only if the courts accept and adopt professional help in their administration.
• Setting up of Tribunals, Fast Track Courts and Special Courts to dispense important cases at the earliest.