GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.480
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26th FEBRUARY, 2015
Sensitivity to Gender Equality
480. SHRI BHEEMRAO B. PATIL:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has felt the need to make judges more sensitive to gender equality;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (c) : Madam, the Government has requested all Chief Justices of High Courts to sensitize the judiciary to gender justice and gender issues.
National Judicial Academy (NJA), Bhopal, an autonomous body registered under the National Societies Registration Act, 1860, is an Apex body to impart judicial training to Judges/Judicial officers of the country. The Academy organizes sensitization programmes on gender issues. The Chief Justices of High Courts have also been advised to use the State Judicial Academies in this regard.
------GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.553
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26.02.2015 Appointment of Judges
553. DR. UDIT RAJ: MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN: SHRI VINCENT H. PALA; SHRI GOPAL SHETTY:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the criteria, qualification, procedure etc. adopted for appointment of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court;
(b) whether the Government proposes appointment of Judges to Higher Courts based on competitive examination like Indian Civil Services examination and if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the people-to-judges ratio in India is comparatively very low than most of the other countries in the world and if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor;
(d) the steps being taken by the Government to improve the said ratio in a phased manner; and
(e) whether the Government has any proposal for organizing courts on the basis of law being dealt with so that specialization in dispensation of justice is maintained to improve quality of justice and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a): The Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President under Article 124 (2) and
Article 217 (1) respectively of the Constitution of India. The appointments of Additional Judges for High Courts are made under Article 224. Judges of the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts are appointed as per the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgement of October 6, 1993 read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998. The process of initiation of proposal for appointment of a Judge and the Chief Justice of the High Courts rests with the Chief Justice of India and of the
High Court rests with the Chief Justice of that High Court. …2/-
: 2 :
(b): No, Madam.
(c) to (e) : In All India Judges’ Association case, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgement dated 21st March,
2002, on a comparative assessment of the position in other countries directed that there should be 50 Judges for a million population in the country. Based on the population as per Census 2011 and sanctioned strength of judges/ judicial officers in Supreme Court, High Courts and District & Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2013, the judge– population ratio in the country works out to be 16.8 judges/ judicial officers per million population.
Further, the Supreme Court, in its order dated 1st February, 2012, in the case of Imtiyaz Ahmed versus
State of Uttar Pradesh & Others, has, inter alia, asked the Law Commission of India to evolve a method for scientific assessment of the number of additional courts. Law Commission has since submitted its Report to the
Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has directed the concerned State Governments and High courts to file their response to the recommendations made by the Law Commission.
In the Conference of Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices of High Courts held in New Delhi on
7th April, 2013, the State Governments were, inter alia, asked to create new posts of judicial officers at all levels with requisite staff and infrastructure in consultation with concerned High Courts.
The Government has increased the number of judges of each High Court by 25%. The Judge strength of
High Courts has been increased from 906 to 984 with effect from 14.10.2014.
Law Commission of India in its 253rd Report submitted to the Government in January 2015 has inter alia recommended the establishment of Commercial Courts, and Commercial Division, Commercial Appellate Divisions in the High Courts in order to ensure speedy disposal of high value commercial suits.
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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ******
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 596
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26th FEBRUARY, 2015
LegfiJ Aid Centre
+596. SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL:
VVill'the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) Whether the Government proposes to set up more legal aid clinics across the country;
(b) if so, the details and present status thereof, State-wise including Maharashtra;
(c) the details of legal services being rendered by these clinics along with the objectives thereof;
(d) the criteria adopted for appointment of advocates in these clinics; and
(e) whether the Government proposes to appoint women advocates also in these clinics and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW ANO JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) Yes, Madam.· The National Legal Services Authority (Legal Aid Clinics) Regulations, 2011 provide establishment of legal aid clinics in all villages, or for a cluster of villages depending on the size of such villages, especially where the people face geographical, and other barriers for access to the legal services institutions.
(b) The requisite information is being collected from the State Legal Services Authorities (c) The objective of this Scheme is to provide an inexpensive local machinery/legal services ·institutions established Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 for rendering legal services of basic nature like legal advice, drafting of petitions, notices, replies, applications and other documents of legal importance and also for resolution of disputes by making the parties to see the reason and thereby preventing disputes reaching courts
(d) & (e) The Legal aid Clinics are primarily manned by the trained para-legal volunteers (PLVs). However, subject to the local requirements and availability of financial resources, the legal se~ices institutions having territorial jurisdiction may decide and depute panel lawyers including women laV11yers to visit the legal aid clinics. Pane! lawyers/retainer lawyer with skills for amicable settlement of the (jisputes, shall alone be considered for being deputed in the legal aid clinic provided that preference shall be given to women lawyers having the practice of at least 3 years.
******** XVI-IV SESSION LOK SABHA, 2015
MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT Of JUSTICE DATE OF FULFILLMENT
Q. NO. &DATE SUBJECT PROMISE MADE WHEN & HOW FULFILLED REASONS FOR DELAY 1 2 3 4 5 Unstarred Legal Aid Clinics: (b) "The information is Part (b) The information was to Q. No.596 being collected from the be collected from all 26.02.2015 Asking for:- State Legal Services State/UT-wise details of number State Legal Services Authorities". of legal aid clinics estabiished Authorities set up in all by (a) Whether the Government proposes to set during the last three years i.e. the States/UTs in the Shri Kapil up more legal aid clinics across the country; 2012, 2013 and 2014 is enclosed. countn;;. Moreshwar Patil (b) If so, the details and present status thereof, Parts (d) & (e) State-wise including Maharashtra; Regulation 8 of National Legal ( d) & ( e): Provided that Services Authority (Legal Aid ( c) The details of legal services being rendered preference shall be given Clinics) Regulations, 2011 provides by those clinics along with the objectives to women lawyers having for guidelines for providing free thereof; the practice of at least 3 legal service. The proviso to years. Regulations states that- preference ( d) the criteria adopted for appointment of shall be given to women lawyers advocates in these clinics; and having the practice of at least 3 years. Hence, this proviso is a sort e) whether the Government proposes to of guideline and not of promise to appoint women advocates also in these clinics be fulfilled. and if so, the details thereof? STAEMENT IN REP.LY TO PART (b} OF THE lOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 596 FOR 26.02.2015 PUT DOWN BY SHRI KAPll MORESHWAR PATILREGARDING LEGAL AID CENTRE.
S.No. Name of the State Authority 2012 2013 2014 1 Andhra Pradesh* 38 34 514 2 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 3 3 Assam 97 65 35 4 Bihar 218 93 105 5 Chhattisgarh 73 129 123 6 Goa 26 19 29 7 Gujarat 202 468 297 8 Haryana 540 128 126 (upto 2012) 9 Himachal Pradesh 359 114 2155 10 Jammu & Kashmir 55 27 25 11 Jharkhand 252 0 39 12 Karnataka 0 0 165 Village Legal Care & Support Centres and 92 Legal Aid Clinics in Law Colleges 13 Kera la 148 633 518 14 Madhya Pradesh 140 804 402 15 Maharashtra 299 207 298 16 Manipur 2 2 14 17 Meghalaya 0 54 20 18 Mizoram 27 33 17 19 Nagaland 14 13 14 20 Orissa 102 264 Nil
21 Punjab 149 164 100 22 Rajasthan 236 361 161 23 Sikkim 2 1 18 24 Tamil Nadu 263 57 516 25 Telangana 75 89 207 26 Tripura 38 18 25 27 Uttar Pradesh 276 702 171 28 Uttarakhand Nil 9 161 29 West Bengal 152 235 423 30 Andaman & Nicobar Nil Nil Nil Islands 31 Chandiqarh U.T 8 2 5 32 Dadra & Nagar Nil Nil 1 Have Ii 33 Daman& Diu . 3 0 1 34 Delhi 3 1 18 35 Lakshadweep Nil Nil Nil 36 U .T. of Puducherry 36 1 18 Note: * Data relates to 13 districts of the State of Andhra Pradesh which was bifurcated w.e.f. 02.06.2014. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.615
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26.02.2015 National Judicial Appointments Commission
615. SHRI J.C. DIVAKAR REDDY: SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI: SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Bill for establishment of National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) has been ratified by the requisite number of States and assented to by the President; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the details of States which have not ratified the said Bill; (c) the time by which notification in this regard is likely to be issued and NJAC is established; and (d) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) & (b) : Yes, Madam. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty First Amendment) Bill, 2014, which provides for making amendments to the Constitution for establishing a National Judicial Appointments
Commission for appointment of Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts as passed by the Houses of the
Parliament has been ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States in accordance with the provisions of the proviso to clause (2) of article 368 of the Constitution. Out of the 29 State Legislatures, the
Legislatures of 17 States viz. (i) Tripura, (ii) Rajasthan, (iii) Goa, (iv) Haryana, (v) Mizoram, (vi) Sikkim, (vii)
Meghalaya, (viii) Uttarakhand, (ix) Gujarat, (x) Tamil Nadu, (xi) Chhattisgarh, (xii) Maharashtra
(Council/Assembly), (xiii) Bihar (council/Assembly), (xiv) Andhra Pradesh (Council/Assembly), (xv) Manipur,
(xvi) Nagaland, and (xvii) Madhya Pradesh have ratified the Constitution (One
…2/-
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Hundred and Twenty First Amendment) Bill till 30th December, 2014 and the President accorded his assent to the
Bill on 31st December, 2014. The Legislatures of 3 more States viz. Karnataka (Council/Assembly), Punjab and
Jharkhand have ratified the Constitution amendment as on 9th January, 2015. The remaining Legislatures of 9
States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal and Telangana have not ratified the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty First Amendment) Bill.
(c) & (d): ‘The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty First Amendment) Bill, 2014’ after assent by the President has been enacted as ‘The Constitution (Ninety Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014’. This along with the accompanying
‘National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014’ has been published in the Gazette of India on 31.12.2014.
Both the Acts shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by Notification in the official
Gazette, appoint. The process for the establishment of National Judicial Appointments Commission such as accommodation, staffing, etc. has been initiated.
*****
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO.*150
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, the 05.03.2015
Vacancies of Judges
*150. SHRI RAHUL SHEWALE: SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the number of Judges appointed in the Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Courts in the country during the last three years along with the vacancies of Judges currently existing in these courts, court-wise;
(b) the number of court rooms and other infrastructural facilities developed during 12th Five Year Plan period against targets, State-wise, along with funds allocated and utilised for the purpose; and
(c) whether the Government proposes to extend financial assistance to States for setting up of new Benches of High Courts and appointment/recruitment of Judges and other employees and if so, the details thereof, State-wise?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (c) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No.150 to be answered on 05.03.2015 regarding ‘Vacancies of Judges’.
(a) to (c) : The number of Judges appointed in the Supreme Court and High Courts in the country during the last three years along with the vacancies of Judges in these courts as on 1.3.2015 is given in the Statement at
Annexure. I.
The appointment of judicial officers I judges in the District I Subordinate Courts is in the domain of the
State Governments and High Courts concerned. The data on sanctioned strength and working strength of judicial officers I judges in District and Subordinate Courts as on 31-12-2014 has been collected from the High Courts and is given in the statement at Annexure-II.
Development of infrastructure facilities for Judiciary is the primary responsibility of the State
Governments. However, in order to augment the resources of the State Governments, a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary is being implemented under which central assistance is provided to the State Governments for the construction of court buildings for district and subordinate courts and residential units for judicial officers. On receipt of the complete proposals from the State Governments including utilisation certificates for the funds released earlier, necessary financial assistance is sanctioned to the
State Governments in terms of the guidelines of the scheme.
The funds sanctioned to various State Governments and Union Territories under the Centrally
Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for infrastructural facilities for Judiciary during the last three years (2011-12, 2012-13 and 20-13-14) and current financial year (2014-15) is given in statement at Annexure-III.
The construction of court rooms and other infrastructure facilities for the subordinate courts is time consuming and continuous process. Information made available by the High Courts about the availability of the court rooms and the court rooms under construction in various states for district and subordinate courts as on 30th
June, 2014 is at Annexure-IV.
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As per the recommendations made by the Jaswant Singh Commission and Judgment pronounced by the Apex Court in WP(C) No.379 of 2000, Benches of High Court are established after due consideration of a complete proposal from the State Government which is to provide infrastructure and meet expenditure. The proposal should have the consent of the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court and the Governor of the State.
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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1675
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 05.03.2015
Retirement Age of Judges
1675. SHRI RAMSINH RATHWA:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether any proposal for raising the retirement age of High Court Judges is under consideration of the Government;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether any Committee set up for the purpose has recommended for increase in the retirement age of High Court Judges from 62 to 65 years; and
(d) if so, the reaction of the Government in this regard?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (d) : The Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 which provided for increasing the retirement age of High Court Judges from 62 years to 65 years was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 25.08.2010. Thereafter, the Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for examination and report, which recommended that the proposed Bill in its present form should be passed without delay. The Bill could not be taken up for consideration and passing in the Parliament and lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
***
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2687
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 12.03.2015
High Court Bench
2687. SHRI LADU KISHORE SWAIN: DR. SHASHI THAROOR: SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the States having High Court Benches in the country; (b) the details of proposals received by the Central Government to set up another bench of High Court apart from existing High Court benches along with the action taken thereon; (c) whether the Central Government is seeking opinion of the Supreme Court and High Courts of the concerned States in this regard; and (d) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) : A Statement showing the details of High Courts, their jurisdiction and Benches in the States is at Annexure.
(b) to (d) : In accordance with the recommendations made by the Jaswant Singh Commission and judgment pronounced by the Apex Court in W.P.(C) No. 379 of 2000, Bench(es) of the High Court are established after due consideration of a complete proposal from the State Government, which is to provide infrastructure and meet the expenditure, along with the consent of the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, which is required to look after the day to day administration of the High Court and its Bench. The proposal should also have the consent of the Governor of the concerned State Government.
Requests for establishment of High Court Benches in different parts of the country have been received from various sources including some State Governments. However, at present there is no proposal complete in all aspects pending for consideration by the Central Government. ***
Annexure Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.2687 to be answered on 12.03.2015
Sl. High Court Principal Jurisdiction No. Seat Permanent Bench and Date from which the Bench began functioning 1 Allahabad Allahabad Uttar Pradesh Lucknow (01.07.1948) 2 Andhra Pradesh & Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh and - Telangana Telangana 3 Bombay Mumbai Maharashtra; Goa; Daman Nagpur (01.05.1960) & Diu; Dadra & Nagar Panaji (01.07.1948) Haveli; Aurangabad (27.08.1984)
4 Calcutta Kolkata West Bengal & Andaman _ & Nicobar Islands 5 Chattisgarh Bilaspur Chattisgarh - 6 Delhi New Delhi NCT of Delhi - 7 Gauhati Guwahati Assam, Nagaland, Kohima, (10.02.1990) Mizoram, & Arunachal Aizawl, (05.07.1990) Pradesh. Itanagar (12.08.2000) 8 Gujarat Sola (Ahmedabad) Gujarat - 9 Himachal Pradesh Shimla Himachal Pradesh - 10 Jammu & Kashmir Jammu & Srinagar Jammu & Kashmir - 11 Jharkhand Ranchi Jharkhand - 12 Karnataka Bangalore Karnataka Dharwad (24.08.2013) Gulbarga (31.08.2013) 13 Kerala Ernakulam (Kochi) Kerala & Lakshadweep - Islands 14 Madhya Pradesh Jabalpur Gwalior (01.11.1956) Madhya Pradesh Indore (01.11.1956) 15 Madras Chennai Tamil Nadu & Madurai (24.07.2004) Pondicherry 16 Orissa Cuttack Orissa - 17 Patna Patna Bihar - 18 Punjab & Haryana Chandigarh Punjab, Haryana & - Chandigarh 19 Rajasthan Jodhpur Rajasthan Jaipur (31.01.1977) 20 Sikkim Gangtok Sikkim - 21 Uttarakhand Nainital Uttarakhand - 22 Manipur Imphal Manipur 23 Meghalaya Shillong Meghalaya 24 Tripura Agartala Tripura GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3750
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 19th MARCH, 2015
Contempt of Court
3750. DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government proposes to amend the ‘Contempt of Court Act, 1971’; and
(b) if so, the details thereof, alongwith the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) : No, Madam.
(b) : Does not arise. ------
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3700
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 19.03.2015 Chief Justice
3700. SHRI VINCENT H. PALA:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of High Courts that do not have a full-fledged Chief Justice:
(b) the reasons for not appointing a Chief Justice to these High Courts along with the steps taken to appoint them; and
(c) the time by which Chief Justice of these High Courts are likely to be appointed?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) : A Statement showing the details of High Courts that do not have a full-fledged Chief
Justice is annexed.
(b) to (c): The Chief Justice of the High Court is appointed as per the procedure laid down in
the Memorandum of Procedure prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgement of
October 6, 1993 read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998. The process of initiation
of proposal for appointment of the Chief Justice of the High Court rests with the Chief Justice of
India. These proposals are examined only after receipt from Chief Justice of India for approvals
from various constitutional authorities.
The recommendations for the appointment of Chief Justices of the High Courts of
Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Sikkim have been received from the Chief
Justice of India. These proposals are under process for requisite approvals.
…
Annexure
Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.3700 for answer on 19.03.2015
(Position as on 16/03/2015)
SL. NAME OF THE NAME OF THE REMARKS NO. HIGH COURT ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE
S/SHRI JUSTICE 1 CHHATTISGARH NAVIN SINHA Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 09/10/2014 2 GAUHATI K.SREEDHAR RAO Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 13/08/2014 3 GUJARAT V.M.SAHAI Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 29/09/2014 4 KERALA ASHOK BHUSHAN Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 01/08/2014 5 MEGHALAYA UMA NATH SINGH Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 27/08/2014 6 ORISSA PRADIP KUMAR MOHANTY Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 27.02.2015 7 PUNJAB&HARYANA S.J. VAZIFDAR Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 15/12/2014 8 RAJASTHAN SUNIL AMBWANI Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 06/08/2014 9 SIKKIM SUNIL KUMAR SINHA Acting Chief Justice w.e.f. 08/10/2014
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.652
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26.02.2015
National Court of Appeal
652. SHRI VENKATESH BABU T.G.:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware of the long pending demand for setting up of a National Court of Appeal (NCA) with regional benches in major cities across the country;
(b) if so, the details and the present status thereof; and
(c) the time by which a final decision is likely to be taken in this regard?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (c) According to Article 130 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint.
Representations have been received from time to time from various quarters for establishment of Benches of Supreme Court in various parts of the country. The Law Commission, in its 229th Report had also suggested that a Constitutional Bench be set up at Delhi to deal with constitutional and other allied issues of national importance and four Cassation Benches be set up in the Northern region at Delhi, the Southern region at Chennai/Hyderabad, the Eastern region at Kolkata and the Western region at Mumbai to deal with all appellate work arising out of the orders/judgments of the High Courts of the particular region.
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The matter was referred to the Chief Justice of India, who has informed that after consideration of the matter, the Full Court in its meeting held on 18th February, 2010, found no justification for setting up of benches of the Supreme Court outside Delhi.
*** GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2536
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 12.03.2015
Name of High Court
2536. DR. KIRIT SOMAIYA:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the name of High Court of Bombay is proposed to be changed; (b) if so, the details thereof along with action taken thereon; and (c) by when the legislative proposal will be passed and name of High Court of Bombay will be changed as High Court of Mumbai?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (c): The proposal for changing the name of ‘Bombay High Court’ as ‘Mumbai High Court’ is under consideration of the Central Government.
*** GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 564
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26TH FEBRUARY, 2015
SPECIAL COURTS \ +564. SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM: SHRI VENKATESH BABU T.G.:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: •. ' (a) the details of various types of Judicial Magistrate courts particularly Morning/Evening and special courts functioning in the .country as on date, State-wise; (b) .the total number of cases disposed of by these courts during each of the last three years, State-wise; (c) whether the Government has issued any direction to State Governments for setting up of more such courts in their States and if so, the details thereof, State-wise ; (d) whether the Union Government has issued any direction to State Governments/other Central Government Ministries/Departments to expedite appointment of public prosecutors for ex1>editious disposal of court cases; and (e) If so, the action taken thereon by the concerned authorities and If not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (c): Setting up and functioning of Morning /Evening/Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate Courts is within the domain of the State Governments and the High Courts. The 131h Finance Commission has made a provision of funds for the· States for Increasing the working hours of Courts through setting up Morning/Evening/Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate Courts utilising the existing infrastructure. As per the reports received, 2739 Morning/Evening/Shift courts have been set-up in various States in the country. A statement Indicating state-wise number of Morning/Evening/ Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate courts set up and the cases disposed, as reported by the State Governments, is at Annexure. (d)&(e): State Governments are primarily responsible for prosecuting criminals through the machinery of their law enforcement agencies. The Union Government, however, had issued an advisory to the State Governments in 2010 lnter-alia for making available proper legal advice/services of prosecutors to the police and to put in place a suitable mechanism to regularly monitor and review the progress of prosecution of criminal cases at District/ State level and reporting the progress to the State Government/UT Administration at appropriate level• •
•. . Annexure STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO {c) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 564 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2616 FEBRUARY 2015
Number of Morning /Evening/Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate Courts set up and number of cases disposed by these courts
SI. No. Name of Number of_Moming munber of cases State /Evening/Shift/Special disposed by these Judicial Magistrate courts Courts set up\ 1 Andhra 592 31436 Pradesh 2 Telanaana 3 Assam '· 270 181016 4 Bihar 38 845 5 Gujarat 252 375330 6 Haryana 154 487536 7 Himachal 2 Not available Pradesh 8 Jammu & 31 Not available Kashmir 9 Kera la 5 40033 10 Maharashtra 394 1255607 11 Odisha 249 894 12 Punjab 148 816695 13 Tamil Nadu 59 23319 14 Tripura 177 143116 15 Uttar 343 60188 Pradesh 16 Uttarakhand 25 3748 Total 2739 3419763 ./ ' GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.644
1 TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26 " February, 2015
Courts for Women and Children
+644. SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK: SHRIMATI NEELAM SONKAR: SHRI PRAHLAD JOSHI: SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state
(a) the number of courts functioning for disposal of cases relating to crimes against children and women in the country including the number of cases pending/disposed of by these courts during each of the last three years, State-wise;
(b) the number of proposals under consideration of the Government for setting up of more such courts in the country along with present status thereof, State-wise including Haryana;
(c) whether the Government proposes to set up dedicated courts to deal with cases relating to crimes against women and adopt victim· friendly trial procedure for the disposal of women cases by appointing women judges/prosecutors in such courts; and
(d) if so, the details and present status thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. Sadananda Gowda)
(a) to (d): Madam, Setting-up of subordinate courts including courts for disposal of cases relating to crimes against children and women is within the purview of the State Governments and the High Courts. Government has written to the Chief Justices of the High Courts to constitute Fast Track Courts (FTCs) for speedy trial of the pending rape cases in district/subordinate courts having a high pendency of such cases and to monitor the progress of these cases. The Chief Ministers of States have been requested to provide financial support to the High Courts for setting up FTCs. A statement in respect of State· wise details of courts set up/designated for cases of crime against women is enclosed at Annexure.
Legislative provisions have been made by the Government for setting up of special courts for speedy trial of offences against children. Section 25 of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 provides that for the purpose of providing speedy trial of offences against children or of violation of child rights, the State Government may, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court, by notification, specify at least a court in the State or specify, for each district, a Court of Session to be a Children's Court to try the said offence. Section 28(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 provides that for the purposes of providing a speedy trial, the State Government shall in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, by notification in the Official Gazette, designate for each district, a Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the offences under the Act provided that if a Court of Session is notified as a Children's Court under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 or a Special Court designated for similar purposes under any other law for the time being in force, then, such court shall be deemed to be a Special Court under this section.
As per the reports published by National Crime Records Bureau, the cases reported and conviction rate in respect of crimes against women and children during the last three years are as under:
Crime against women Year Number of cases reported Conviction rate 1 2 3 2013 309546 22.4 2012 244270 21.3 2011 228650 26.9 Crime against children
Year Number of cases reported Conviction rate 1 2 3 2013 58224 30.9 2012 38172 29.0 2011 33098 34.6
Section 327 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provides for victim friendly trial procedure. It provides that 'in Camera trial' shall be conducted as far as practicable by a woman judge or Magistrate while conducting inquiry or trial of rape or an offence under section 376 to 376E of the Indian Penal Code. Annexnre
Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.644 for 26/02/2015 regarding Courts for women and Children
Number of Courts set up/designated for crime against women
SI. No. Name of the State Number of courts I 2 3
I Andhra Pradesh 24 2 Assam 3 3 Chhattisgarh 16 4 Chandigarh 01 5 Haryana 21 6 Janunu & Kashmir 5 7 Jharkhand 11 8 Karnataka 10 9 Kerala I 10 Madhya Pradesh 50 I l Maharashtra 27 12 Meghalaya I 13 Odisha 30 14 Punjab 20 15 Rajasthan 9 16 Sikkim l 17 Tamil Nadu 32 18 Tripura 2 19 Uttar Pradesh 80 20 West Bengal 48 21 Delhi 6 Total 398
Note: 68 courts approved in Bihar. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.483
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 26'h February, 2015
Pending Court Cases
483. SHRI S.R.VIJAYAKUMAR: SHRI SIRAJUDDIN AJMAL:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state
(a) the number of cases of D Voters, Foreigners and Fisherman from other countries including Sri Lanka pending in Supreme Court, High Courts, Subordinate Courts including Fast Track Courts as on date, Separately;
(b) the number of such cases disposed of in these courts during the last three years, court and year-wise;
(c) the reasons for pendency of such cases and the remedial steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard; and
(d) the details of sanctioned strength and vacancies in Fast Track Courts in the country along with the steps taken to fill up these vacancies?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. Sadananda Gowda)
(a) to (c) : Madam, this information is not maintained centrally.
(d): A statement indicating the numbers of Fast Track Courts (FTCs) reported functional is enclosed as Annexure. Filling-up of vacancies in subordinate courts including FTCs is within the purview of the respective State Government and the High Court. Annexure
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO THE LOKSABHA UNSTARRED 1 QUESTION NO. 483 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 h February, 2015
STATEMENT REGARDING NUMBER OF FAST TRACK COURTS APPROVED FOR 11TH FINANCE COMMISSION FUNDING IN 2000 AND FUNCTIONAL AS ON THE DATE MENTIONED
SI. Name of the State Approved no. of No. of FTCs As on No. FTCs as in 2000 functioning 1 Andhra Pradesh 86 72 April, 14 2 Arunachal Pradesh 5 0 March, 14 3 Assam 20 20 Oct.12 4 Bihar 183 179 March.11 5 Chhattisgarh 31 21 April,14 6 Goa 5 5 July, 14 7 Gujarat 166 61 Feb.,11 8 Haryana 36 6 Dec.10 9 Himachal Pradesh 9 0 June,14 10 Jammu & Kashmir 12 5 June, 14 11 Jharkhand 89 11 March, 14 12 Karnataka 93 39 March, 14 13 Kerala 37 38 Aug., 13 14 Madhya Pradesh 85 84 Dec.10 15 Maharashtra 187 92 June,14 16 Manipur 3 2 Oct.12 17 Meghalaya 3 3 June,14 18 Mizoram 3 3 March 11 19 Nagaland 3 2 Oct. 12 20 Odisha 72 30 June,14 21 Punjab 29 20 March, 14 22 Rajasthan 83 0 March.14 23 Sikkim 3 1 March, 14 24 Tamil Nadu 49 32 June,14 25 Tripura 3 2 June,14 26 Uttar Pradesh 242 80 Feb 15 27 Uttarakhand 45 0 July, 14 28 West Bengal 152 77 Aug., 14 29 Delhi - 10 March, 14 Total 1734 895 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ******
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 154
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE s™ MARCH, 2015
Funds for Legal Assistance td,:Prisoners
+*154. SHRI GOPAL SHETTY:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a} whether the Government provides financial assistance to States!UTs for providing free legal assistance to poor and undertrial prisoners and if so, the criteria laid· down for the purpose;
(b) the funds provided to various States/UTs during each of the last three years along with the utilisation status thereof, State/UT-wise;
(c) whether the Government proposes to review/revise the e~isting criteria and also ensure that the said funds are utilised properly; and
(d) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to provide free legal assistance to the poor and · . undertrial prisoners in the country?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House: STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 154 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 5.0!i.2014
Part (a) to (d): Government provides a grant-in aid to National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). NALSA in turn allots funds to State Legal Services Authorities. The funds are meant for the purpose of providing free legal aid to all categories of persons as specified under the provisions of Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, which includes amongst others undertrial prisoners also. Section 12 is reproduced below:
Under Section 12 of Legal Services Authorities Ac:;t, 1987 (39 of the Central Act),the following persons are entitled to free legal services: ·\.
"12. Criteria for giving legal services - Every person who has to file or defend a case shall be entitled to legal services under this Act if that person is;-
(a) a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes; (b) a victim of trafficking in hm'nan beings or beggar as referred to in article 23 of the Constitution; (c) a women or a child; (d) a person with disability as defined iri clause (i) of section 2 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996); (e) a person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster; or (f) an industry workman; or . (g) in custody, including custody in a protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 or a in a Juvenile home within the meaning of clause G) of section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (53 of 1986), or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the Mental Health Act, 1987 (l4of1987); or (h) in receipt of annual income less than rupees nine thousand or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the State Government, if the case is before a court other than the Supreme Court (now enhanced to Rs. 1 "lac per annum), and Jess than rupees twelve thousand or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the Central Government, if the case is before the Supreme Court (now enhanced to Rs. 1.25 lac per annum).
A statement showing the details of funds provided by National Legal Services Authority to various State Legal Services Authorities both in States and Union Territories and also the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee along with the details of utilization of funds during each of the last three. financial years viz. 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 is at Annexure-I. . There is a proposal to enlarge the categories of persons eligible for legal aid. The State Authorities have been requested to take steps to ensure that the funds are properly utilized and ensure timely submission of audited accounts and utilization certificates. ,i\Nl\lEXURE "A REPLY TO PART (b) OF THE LOI< SABHA STARRED QUESTIOl\J NO. 154 FOR 05.03.2015 PUT DOWN BY SHRI GO PAL SHETIY REGARDING FUNDS FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO PRISlONERS. (A Statement containing the details of the funds allocated by National Legal Services Authority and utilized by State Legal Services Authorities during the last three financial years viz 2011-12. 2012'-13 and 2013-14- s. Name of the Amount of Amount of Amount of Amount of Amount ~'mount ol Funds Funds Funds Funds Funds ~unds Aikicated utmzed Allocated Utilized Allocated (Rs.). Utmzed (Rs.) (Rs.) (Rs.) (Rs.} (Rs.) No. State Authority 2011-12 2011-12 2012-13 2012-13 2013-14 . 2013-14 *:'i<:* *** *** .. 1 Andhra Pradesh 15000000 15000000 30000000. 2 Arunachal Pradesh 7500000 2500000 12200000 ' " 3 Assam 15000000 13800000 12200000 4 Bihar 15000000 12500000 30000000 " 5 Chhattisgarh 15000000 5000000 22200000 6 Goa 8000000 2500000 14700000 7 Gujrat 10000000 10000000 15000000 15000000 25700000 8 Haryana 14000000 17500000 27700000 9 Himachal Pradesh 13000000 13000000 7500000 7500000 17200000 10 J & K 15000000 12500000 17200000 11 Jharkhand 15000000 7500000 14200000 12 Karnataka 15000000 10000000 24700000. 13 Kera la 14331350 10331350 17500000 17500000 27200000 14 Madhya Pradesh 15000000 22500000 18200000 15 Maharashtra 15000000 15000000 17200000 16 Manipur 9000000 7500000 17200000 17 Meghalaya 9000000 7500000 12200000' 18 Mizoram 9000000 9000000 7500000 7500000 14700000 19 Nagaland 9000000 7500000 17200000 20 Orissa 15000000 15000000 2?.200000.. 21 Punjab 14000000 15000000 17200000 22 Rajasthan 15000000 15000000 18200000 23 Sikkim 9000000 7500000 12200000 24 Tamil Nadu 15000000 15000000 17500000 17500000 18200000 25 Tripura 10000000 7500000 12200000 26 Uttar Pradesh 10000000 15200000 1 15000000 ------1 .. I T s. Name the Amcnuit of Amount of Amount Clf !Am of Amount of Amount of Funds Funds Funds Funds Funds . Funds Alloccited Utilized Allocated Utilized Allocated (Rs.) Utilized (Rs.) {Rs.) (Rs.) {Rs.) {Rs.) No. State Authority 2011-12 2011-12 2012-13 2012-13 2013-14 2013~14 *** *** *** 28 West Bengal 15000000 15000000 17500000 14700000 ' 29 And, & Nico. Islands 3300000 15000000 3000000 30 U.T, Chandigarh 6000000 6000000 3000000 12200000 31 D & Nagar Haveli 3500000 500000 3000000 32 Daman & Diu 3500000 500000 3000000•. 33 Delhi 13000000 12500000 17200000 34 Lakshadweep 3000000 500000 3000000 35 UTPuducherry 6200000 7500000 9700000 36 Supreme Court Legal 15000000 10000000 20000000 Services Committee *** Please Note; The details of the exact amount of funds utilised in respect of each of the last three financial years by the State Authorities are not readily available and are being collected from the State Authorities and will be furnished on its receipt. Utilisation Certificates are issued only in respect of the cases where funds are utilised fully and hence, Utilisation Certificates in respect of partial utilisation of funds are not issued by l\lALSA. GOVERNMENT OF' INDIA MINISTRY OF' LAW & .JUSTICE (DEARRTMENT OF' .JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.1695
7 TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 5 H MARCH, 2015
Special Courts for Dalits
+1695. SHRI SADASHIV LOKHANDE:
Will the Minister of LAW AND•.. .JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government proposes to set up special courts for expeditious disposal of court cases related to atrocities on Dalit section of society in the country;
(b) if so, the details and present status thereof, State-wise;
(c) the time by which such courts are likely to be set up;
{d) the financial implication likely to be involved in setting up of these courts; and
(e) whether the Union Government proposes to extend financial assistance to State Governments for the. purpose and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & .JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. Sadananda Gowda)
(a) to (c}: In accordance with Section 14 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) {PoA} Act, 1989, the State Governments with the concurrence of the Chief .Justice of the High Court, specify for each district, a Court of Session to be a Special Court for the purpose of speedy trial of offences under the Act. Accordingly, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, .Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manlpur, Meghalaya, Odlsha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, NCT of Delhi and Puducherry have designated District Session Courts as Special Courts. Further, to accelerate the pace of trial of cases under the PoA Act, 190 exclusive Special Courts have also been set up by the States namely Andhra Pradesh (13), Bihar (11), Chhattisgarh (6), Gujarat (26), Karnataka (8), Kerala (2), Madhya Pradesh (43), Rajasthan (25), Tamil Nadu (4), Telangana (10), Uttar Pradesh (40) and Uttarakhand (2).
(d) and (e) : The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) {PoA} Act, 1989 is implemented by the respective State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. Under this Ministry, the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, due Central assistance is provided to the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations on 50:50 basis, and Union. Territories receive 100% Central assistance mainly for strengthening of enforcement and judicial machinery, awareness generation, incentive for inter-caste marriage, relief and rehabilitation of atrocity victims. The State/UT wise details of Central assistance released under the Scheme during 2013·14 and 2014-15 (up to 28.2.2015) are given in the annexure, which for certain State Government& includes Central assistance for setting up of exclusive special courts. Annexure
Statement referred in reply to part {d) & {e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.1695 for 5.3.2015 regarding Special Courts for Dalits.
State/UT-wise Central assistance released under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, during 2013·14 and 2014·15 {As on 28.2.2015).
(Rs. in lakhs) S.No. States/UTs 2013·14 2014-15 1. Andhra Pradesh 2013.103 425.19 2. Bihar .. 427.575 415.19 3. Chhattisgarh 199.345 246.38 4. Goa 10.50 11.00 5. Gujarat 287.545 727.255 6. Haryana 266.920 178.62 7. Himachal Pradesh 47.28 94.32 8. Jharkhand 85.50 140.877 9. Karnataka 687.954 1730.535 10. Kera la 0 1349.9435 11. Madhya Pradesh 1497.92 2183.155 12. Maharashtra 2149.233 2049.805 13. Odisha 936.795 802.335 14. Punjab . . 15. Rajasthan 926.47 658.77 16. Tamil Nadu 1680.97 720.295 17. Telangana . 1328.17 18. Tripura 0 10.00 19. West Bengal 0 191.6245 20. Uttar Pradesh 1314.750 1197.54 21. Uttarakhand 43.14 58.19 22. Chandigarh 9.00 . 23. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 50.286 . 24. Daman & Diu 5.37 . 25. NCT of Delhi . 29.50 26. Puducherry 125.00 148.00
Total 12764.656 14697.50 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEARRTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.1814
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 5rn MARCH, 2015
Special Courts for Cases of Road Accidents
1814. SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHA.VAN:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government proposes to set up special courts for the disposal of road accident cases in the country to clear backlog of road accident cases;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to expedite disposal of court cases relating to road accidents?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. Sadananda Gowda)
(a) to (c): In terms of Section 165 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 19881 State Governments may constitute one or more Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal for such areas as may be specified in the notification for the purpose of adjudicating upon claims for compensation in respect of accidents involving the death of, or bodily injury to, persons arising out of the use of motor vehicles, or damages to any property of a third partly so arising, or both. Accordingly, the State Governments have either constituted exclusive Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals or have empowered other regular courts to deal with the cases of Motor Accident Claims. -2-
SI. State Gram An10unt released (Rs. in Lakhs) Nyayalayas ·- No. Notified 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 - -- e------1 Madhya Pradesh 89 156.80 0.00 284.80 0.00
2 Rajas than 45 144.00 243.00 215.20 71.78 ' 3 Karnataka 2 25.20 0.00 0.00 0.00
4 Orissa 16 ·~· 110.60 0.00 0.00 0.00
5 Maharashtra 18 9.60 15.80 0.00 100.80 - 6 Jharkhand 6 0.00 75.60 0.00 0.00 .. 7 Goa 2 0.00 25.20 0.00 0.00 -- .. 8 Punjab 2 0.00 25.20 0.00 0.00
"'~- 9 Haryana 2 0.00 ' 25.20 0.00 0.00 -- 10 Uttar Pradesh 12 0.00 0.00 0.00 127.42
--- ~- Total 194 446.20 410.00 500.00 300.00 - ---
Majority of States have now set up regular courts at Taluka level. Further, reluctance of police officials and other State functionaries to invoke jurisdiction of Gram Nyayalayas, lukewann response of the Bar, non-availability of notaries and stamp vendors, problem of concurrent jurisdiction of regular courts are other issues indicated by the States which are coming in the way of operationalization of the Gram Nyayalayas.
The issues affecting operationalization of the Gram Nyayalayas were discussed in the Conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief· Ministers of the States on 7'h April, 2013. It was decided in the Conference that the State Governments and High Courts should decide the question of establishment of Gran1 Nyayalayas wherever feasible, taking into account their local problems. The focus is on setting up Gram Nyayalayas in the Talukas where regular courts have not been set up. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.1796
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 5TH MARCH, 2015
Pending cases in Family Courts
+1796. SHRI OM BIR.LA: .. Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the number of family courts functioning in the country along with the number of cases disposed of/pending therein during each of the last three years, State-wise including Rajasthani . . (b) the present status of proposals from various State Governments for setting up of family courts, State-wise;
(c) the number of sanctioned strength and vacancies in these courts, State-wise along with the steps taken to fill up these vacancies; and
(d) the details of funds allocated and released by the Union Government for the purpose during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. Sadananda Gowda )
(a): A statement indicating the number of family courts functioning in the country, State-wise, as per information available is enclosed as Annexure-1. As per information received, the number of cases dispos®(); during each of the last three years and pending on the date given ii;. enclosed as Annexure-11.
(b): As per the Family Courts Act, 1984, Family Courts are established by the State Governments in consultation with the respective High Court. Central Government provides financial assistance to State Governments for Family Courts on receipt of their proposals. Recently, on receipt of proposals from State Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattlsgarh, grants of Rs. 3. 75 crore and Rs. 1.00 crore respectively have been released to these States.
(c): The information regarding sanctioned strength and vacancies in Family courts is not maintained centrally. Filling up of vacancies in the Subordinate Courts, including Family Courts, is within the domain of respective State Governments/High Courts.
' ' (d): Funds released to the States for Family Courts during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise is indicated below:
(Rs. in lakh)
Under Plan
Grant released during the year SI. Name of State 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 No. 1 Odisha 20.00 0 0 0
Under Non-Plan
Grant released during the year SI. No. Name of State 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 1 Nagaland 40.00 . . . 2 Maharashtra 100.00 . . . 3 Tripura . 75.00 . . 4 Bihar - . 500.00 . 5 Uttar Pradesh - . . 375.00 6 Chhattisgarh . . . 100.00 Annexure·I
NUMBER OF FAMILY COURTS FUNCTIONAL
S.No. Name of the State Number of Family Courts functional in the State 1 Andhra Pradesh + Telangana 27 2 ArunachalPradesh . 3 Assam 03 4 Bihar 33 5 Chhattisgarh 20 6 Delhi ... 15 7 Goa . 8 Gujarat 17 9 Haryana 06 10 Himachal Pradesh . 11 Jammu & Kashmir . 12 Jharkhand 21 13 Karnataka 24 14 Kerala 28 15 Madhya Pradesh 38 16 Maharashtra 25 17 Manipur 04 18 Meghalaya . 19 Mlzoram 04 20 l'llagaland 02 21 Odisha 17 22 Punjab . . 23 Puducherry 01 24 Rajasthan 28 25 Sikkim 04 26 Tamil Nadu 14 27 Tripura 03 28 Uttar Pradesh 75 29 Uttarakhand 08 30 West Bengal 02 Total 419 Annexure-11
Number of cases disposed of in Family Courts for the last three years and pending on the date given are as follow:
S.No. State Cases disposed of Cases Pending during the Year 2012 2013 2014 1 Sikkim 194 30!> 245 106 (as on 31.01.2015) 2 Hlmachal 3461 5021 2803 3581 (as on Pradesh 31.12.2014) 3 Kerala 40499 54215 47525 52541 (as on . 31.12.2014) 4 Odisha 3816 5692 8926 22992 (as on 31.12.2014) 5 Maharashtra 22469 23022 22812 31075 (as on 31.01.2015) 6. Karnataka 12541 15480 16690 23285 (as on 01.02.2015) 7 Haryana 8233 9130 9151 12059 (as on 31.01.2015) 8 Madhya 11782 13196 21569 2636 Pradesh 9 Bihar 12537 5192 N.A. 15068* (year 2013) 10 Chhattisgarh 8015 8448 6481 (as on 9329 (as on April 2014) April 2014) 11 Uttarakhand 4990 6531 2714 (as on 6930 (as on June 2014) June, 2014) 12 Tripura 1376 1709 1722 1673 (as on 3.3.2015)
*Information for the year yet to be received from 14 districts of Bihar GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1728 TO BE ANSWERED ON THRUSDAY, THE 5TH MARCH, 2015
e-Court Mission Mode Project
1728. ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR: DR. KIRIT SOMAIYA: SHRI PREM DAS RAI: SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN: SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL: SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of targets set and achieved so far under the e Courts Mission Mode Project in the country along with the details of works being undertaken thereunder; (b) the number of courts in which the work under the aforesaid project has so far been completed, under execution/pending for completion, State-wise including Maharashtra; (c) the details of funds allocated/utilised for the purpose during each of the last three years, State-wise; (d) whether the Government proposes to launch e-petition/e-filing of court cases in the country and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the present status of progress made in linking such courts with National Judicial Data Grid across the country?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda)
(a) to (c): Under the eCourts Integrated Mission Mode Project, the Government had approved computerization of 14249 District and Subordinate Courts in the country and up gradation of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure of the Supreme Court and High Courts by 31"1 March, 2015 at a cost of Rs. 935 Crore. 1 As on 28 h February, 2015, sites for 14249 districts and subordinate courts have been made ready for computerisation, out of which LAN has been installed at 13606 courts, hardware at 13436 courts and software at 13273 courts. The State-wise status of various components of the project is enclosed at Annexure A. NIC is the implementation agency for the project. Funds are released to NIC on an all India basis. NIC has so far utilised Rs. 595 crore out of the budgeted Rs. 935 Crore for the Project.
The details of funds utilised under the project for the last three Financial Years is as under:
S.NO Year
1 2011-12 2 2012-13 3 2013-14 4 2014-15
(d): e-petition and e-filing have not been taken up in Phase I of the Project which ends on 31 •1 March, 2015. In the Policy and Action Plan Document approved by the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India on 8th January, 2014, e-filing has been included for Phase II of the Project.
(e): All the district and subordinate courts computerised under eCourts project have been linked to National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), which is a common repository of case records across the country. On NJDG, data entry of decided cases is being undertaken and data pertaining to pending cases is being updated on a daily basis. As on 2•d March, 2015, data in respect of more than 4.41 crore cases and more than 89 lakh orders/judgments pertaining to district and subordinate Courts under the jurisdiction of 21 out of 24 High Courts have been uploaded on NJDG. ------·------· ,..,.,~--,.,------_____ ,,, ______
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF THE LOK UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1728 FOR 5TH MARCH, 2015
Summary Report - State Wise Annexure A
705 1908 1908 1955 774 770 218 424 403 385 837 738 910 101 101 101 100 1151 1101 1100
536 479 479 444 788 775 787 787
413 784 668 423 423 423 413 788 788
10 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3762
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 19THMARCH, 2015
Family Court
+3762. SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE : SHRI RAMESH CHA'NDER KAUSHIK.: DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the number of family courts functioning at present in the country, State-wise; (b) whether problems have been reported in disposing of cases registered in these courts; (c) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken to dispose of the pending cases; (d) whether the Government is contemplating to set up family courts in the country particularly in the backward and tribal regions of Maharashtra; and (e) if so, the details: and status thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a): A statement indicating the number of family courts functioning in the country, State-wise, as per information available is enclosed as Annexure-1.
(b) & (c): Disposal of cases in Courts is within the domain of judiciary. The High Courts have not reported any problems in disposal of cases in Family Courts.
(d) & (e): As per the Family Courts Act, 1984, Family Courts are established by the State Governments in consultation with the . respective High Court as per their need. Under Section 3(1)(a) of the Family Courts Act, it is mandatory for the State Governments to set up a Family Court for every area in the State comprising a city or a town whose population exceeds one million. In other areas of the States, the Family Courts may be set up if the State Governments deem it necessary.
., Annexure·I
NUMBER OF FAMILY COURTS FUNCTIONAL
S.No. Name of the State Number of Family Courts functional in the State 1 Andhra Pradesh + Telangana 27 - 2 Arunachal Pradesh . , .. _ 3 Assam 03 - -- -- 4 Bihar 33 -- 5 Chhattisgarh 20 6 Delhi 15 7 Goa . - 8 Gujarat 19 - 9 Haryana 06 10 Himachal Pradesh . 11 Jammu & Kashmir . 12 Jharkhand 21 -- 13 Karnataka 24 - 14 Kerala 28 - -- 15 Madhya Pradesh 38 - 16 Maharashtra 25 17 Manipur 05 18 Meghalaya . 19 Mizoram 04 - - 20 Nagai and 02 21 Odis ha 17 22 Punjab . 23 Puducherry 01 -- 24 Rajas than 28 25 Sikkim 04 26 Tamil Nadu 14 -- -- 27 Tripura 03 -- 28 Uttar Pradesh 75 29 Uttarakhand 08 30 West Bengal 02 - Total 422 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3905
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 19TH MARCH, 2015
EVENING COURTS
+3905. SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA: SHRI A. ANWHAR RAAJHAA: ... Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of funds allocated/sanctioned by the Union Government for setting up evening courts in the States during the last financial year along with the evening courts established State·wise from the fund sanctioned ; (b) the number of States which have utilized the allocated funds; (c) the number of cases disposed of/ pending along with the action plan by the Government for their disposal ; (d) whether the Government has taken steps to appoint adequate number of Judges in these evening courts; and (e) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a)to(e): Setting up and functioning of Morning /Evening/Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate Courts is within the domain of the State Governments and the High Courts. The 13•h Finance Commission has made a provision of funds for the States for increasing the working hours of Courts through setting up Morning/Evening/Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate Courts utilising the existing infrastructure. Hence, additional judicial officers are not required to be appointed for setting up evening courts. As per the reports received, 2787 Morning I Evening/Shift courts have been set-up in various States in the country. A statement indicating state-wise funds allocated /released/utilized, number of Morning/Evening/Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate courts set up and the cases disposed, as reported by the State Governments, is at Annexure. Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3905 for 19.03.2015
Funds allocated to States to set-up Morning/Evening/Shift/Special Judicial Magistrate Comts for the 'Improvement of Justice Delivery System' under the Thilteenth Finance Commission (TFC) award
As on 28.02.2015 Funds funds Funds Number Since inception allocated released utilized of courts number of cases SI. Name of the (Rs. in since since set-up disposed off No. States crore) inception inception (Rs. in (Rs. in
crore) .. crore) Andhra 145.18 43.55 46.24 592 31436 I Pradesh/Tela ngana .. Arunachal 53.15 10.63 0.00 0 0 2 Pradesh 3 Assam 45.31 9.06 I. I 0 270 181016 4 Bihm· 214.32 64.30 0.00 38 845 5 Chhattisgarh 54.56 10.91 0.00 0 0 6 Goa 7.68 1.54 0.00 0 0 7 Gujarat 161.17 161.17 123.80 252 375330 8 Haryana 61.61 18.48 3.16 154 487536 Himachal 19.75 7.90 1.19 2 0 9 Pradesh Jammu & · 32.61 9.78 0.85 31 0 10 Kashmir 11 Jharkhand 82.62 16.52 0.07 0 0 12 Karnataka 136.71 41.0 I 2.19 0 0 13 Kera la 67.42 20.23 0.41 5 40033 Madhya 204.91 61.47 0.00 0 0 14 Pradesh 15 Maharashtra 297.57 89.27 18.95 394 1255607 16 Manipnr 5.33 1.07 0.06 0 0 17 Meghalaya 1.57 0.31 0.01 0 0 18 Mizoram 6.27 1.88 0.00 0 0 19 Nagaland 4.23 1.27 0.00 0 0 20 Orissa 83.25 . 33.31 17.23 249 894 21 Punjab 54.25 16.28 3.43 148 816695 22 Rajasthan 129.34 38.80 0.00 0 0 23 Sikkim 2.04 0.41 0.00 0 0 24 Tamil Nadu 123.54 24.71 10.69 59 23319 25 Tripura 12.54 3 ..76 0.29 225 178575 Uttar 340.84 102.25 4.23 343 60188 26 Pradesh 27 Uttarakhand 42.80 12.84 0.35 25 3748 28 West Bengal l 09.43 32.83 0.00 0 0 Total 2500.00 835.55 234.25 2787 3455222 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5053
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 23'd April, 2015
Gender Determination
+5053. SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH : ...
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Hon'ble Supreme Court has ordered for expeditious disposal of cases pertaining to the offences of pre-natal gender determination in view of decreasing number of girl child in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the number of such cases disposed of during the last three years in various courts, State/UT· wise;
(c) whether the Hon'ble Supreme Court has also ordered for special training for the judicial officers; and
(d) if so, the details thereof along with the number of officers imparted such training during the last three years, State/UT-wise?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a): In Writ Petition (Civil) No. 349 of 2006, Voluntary Health Association of Punjab Vs. Union of India & Others, the Hon'ble Supreme Court on 4th March, 2013, gave following directions for effective implementation of provisions of PC & PNDT Act•
...... 11. The various courls in this country should take steps to dispose of all pending cases under the Act, within a period of six months. Communicate this order to the Registrars of various High Courl, who will take appropriate follow up action with due intimation to the concerned Courts.
The Hon'ble Supreme Court, in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 349 of 2006, Voluntary Health Association of Punjab Vs. Union of India & Others, reiterated its directive in order passed on 16.09.2014.
· ••••••• ii. For an order directing all courls where proceedings under this Act are instituted to fast track the proceedings to be completed within 6 months from today.
(b): Details of State/ UT· wise cases under PC & PNDT Act disposed in last two years are at Annexure-1. The data is based on the Quarterly Progress Reports (QPR) submitted by States/ UTs.
(c): In Writ Petition (Civil) No. 349 of 2006, Voluntary Health Association of Punjab Vs. Union of India & Others, the Hon'ble Supreme Court on 13.01.2015 and 20.01.2015, passed State-specific orders for Haryana & Uttar Pradesh Governments respectively wherein States have been directed to impart adequate training to the judiciary through State Judiciary training and Research Institutes.
(d): In view of the above mentioned order of Hon'ble Supreme Court, 1:J,e Govt. of Uttar Pradesh organised a training workshop on 24th Feb. 2015 in which about 100 officers were trained including Prosecuting Officers, District Magistrates, Sub-District Magistrates.
A State level training workshop was also organised by Govt. of Haryana on 31.03.2015, which was attended 110 officials including District Attorneys, Director (Prosecution), State Appropriate Authority, District Appropriate Authorities, Deputy Superintendent of Police and other State level Implementing Officers.
A Judicial Colloquium was organised by Govt. of Rajasthan on
1 oth January, 2015 at Jaipur. The participants were Hon'ble Judges from High Court, Session Courts, District Courts, Special Magistrates of PNDT Courts etc•
•. . Annexure-1
State/ UT- wise cases disposed off under PC & PNDT Act
Cases disposed off in last two years
I. Andhra Pradesh 0 0 2. Arnnachal Pradesh 0 0 3. Assam 7 0 4. Bihar 0 0 5. Chhattisgarh 0 0 6. Goa 0 20 7. Gujarat 0 0 8. Haryana 0 85 9. Himachal Pradesh ... 0 0 IO. Jammu & Kashmir 0 0 11. Jharkhand 0 0 12. Karnataka 0 0 13. Kerala 0 0 14. Madhya Pradesh I I 15. Maharashtra 33 33 16. Manipur 0 0 17. Meghalaya 0 0 18. Mizoram 0 0 19. Nagaland 0 0 20. Odisha 0 0 21. Punjab 30 6 22. Rajasthan 124 44 23. Sikkim 0 0 24. Tami!Nadu 7 0 25. Tripura 0 0 26. Uttarakhand 2 3 27. Uttar Pradesh 0 2 28. West Bengal 4 I 29. A&N. Island 0 0 30. Chandigarh 0 2 31. D. &N. Haveli 0 0 32. Daman&Diu 0 0 33. Delhi 0 0 34. Lakshadweep 0 0 35. Puducherry 0 0 Total 167 190 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT Of JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA STARR.ED QUESTION N0.434
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 23"0 APRIL, 2015
Conference of Judges and Chief Ministers ... +* 434. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH: DR. BHOLA SINGH:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) whether a conference of Judges and State Chief Ministers was held recently; (b) if so, the details and the outcome thereof; (c) whether certain suggestions including expeditious disposal of pending court cases, use of Hindi/regional languages, live telecast of court proceeding etc. were made in the conference; (d) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto; and (e) the follow-up action being taken by the Government on the suggestions made at said conference?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a)to(e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. : [f
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 434 FOR 23/04/2015 REGARDING CONFERENCE OF JUDGES AND CHIEF MINISTERS
(a) to (e): A Joint Conference of Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices of.High Courts was held on 5th April, 2015 in New Delhi. The agenda for discussion included infrastructure and manpower for courts, judicial reforms, ICT enablement of courts, reduction of arrears and expeditious case disposal, role of the justice system in the ease of doing business, implementation of recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission for the justice sector, drawing up a National
Vision and Mission Plan for 2015-20201 strengthening of legal aid services, judicial academies, juvenile justice system and alternate dispute resolution mechanism, and service conditions of sitting and retired Judges.
The conference provides a forum for dialogue between the Chief Justices of all the 24 High Courts and the Chief Ministers of States and the Lt. Governors/Administrators of Union Territories. Chief Ministers and Chief Justices gave an update on the issues discussed and resolutions passed in the Joint Conference held in April, 2013 and spoke of the situation obtaining in their own States. Many Chief Justices confirmed existence of good coordination with Chief Ministers while some expressed the need for closer . coordination between them to address issues relating to infrastructure, manpower and facilities. Some Chief Ministers expressed the need for the judiciary to focus on cheque bouncing cases, motor vehicle challans and arbitration and to have the mechanism of pre-trial conference in order to reduce pendency. Some of them requested the use of Hindi and other regional languages in proceedings in High Courts, while others advocated installation of CCTV cameras in court premises and audio-video recording of court proceedings. Some Chief Justices remarked on the need for appropriate infrastructure and manpower. A number of issues relating to staff and facilities for judges were also raised. The Chief Justice of India suggested that the demands from the Chief Justices need to be attended to expeditiously for the good of the institution and for the development of the Judiciary. Therefore, it was resolved that the Chief Justices and Chief Ministers shall institute a mechanism for regular interaction to resolve issues, particularly those relating to infrastructure and manpower needs and facilities for the Judiciary.
Government is of the view that continued discussion between the Judiciary and State •Governments is highly advisable and meaningful results can emanate from such discussions in order to carry forward the efforts to provide litigant friendly environment in courts and to eliminate the long-pending arrears of cases in courts.
**********
,, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.4927
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 23RD APRIL, 2015
Judges in various Commissions
4927. DR. A. SAMPATH: ...
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of Judges who are presently heading various commissions in the country;
(b) whether such appointments have been hampering the judicial working in the country;
(c) if so, the reaction of the Government in this regard; and
(d) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to meet the shortage of Judges?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (c) : Various legislations enacted by the Parliament in the country have provisions for appointment of sitting/retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts as Chairpersons and Members of the Commissions, Tribunals and Authorities. Considering the position of arrears of cases in the courts, sitting Judges are not normally appointed to discharge functions other than those of a Judge of a Supreme Court or a High Court since appointment of a sitting Judge in another capacity adversely affects the disposal of cases. Whenever proposals for appointment of a sitting judge on full time basis are received, Government conveys
"" ... 21- 2
'no objection' for such appointment after consulting the Chief Justice of India/Chief Justice of High Court and if the concerned judge has less than six months of service as Judge. Administrative Departments have been requested to consider appointing a retired judge in such Commissions, Tribunals etc. unless there are very pressing and exceptional circumstances for the appointment of a sitting Judge. Therefore, many Commissions, Tribunals and Authorities are manned by retired judges. Details regarding number of. Judges heading various commissions in the country are not centrally maintained by the Government.
(d) : In order to address the problem of shortage of Judges in High Courts, Government periodically writes to the Chief Justices of the High Courts to send proposals for filling up of vacancies in time. Following the Joint Conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers of States, held on 07.04.2013, a decision was taken to increase the number of judges of the High Courts by 25%. Accordingly, in principle approval of the Chief Justice of India was obtained and efforts are underway to increase the judge strength of High Courts from the present 906 to 1112. With regard to subordinate judiciary, filling up of the vacant posts of judges, increasing the judge strength etc. rest with the respective High Court and the State Government. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.6007
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 30TH APRIL, 2015
Ban on Appointment of Retired Judges
+6007. SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH.. SHEKHAWAT: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is considering to impose a ban on appointment of retired High Court and Supreme Court Judges to any constitutional post; and
(b) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) No, Madam.
(b) Does not arise. ' GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.6156
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 30rH APRIL, 2015
Pecuniary Jurisdiction
+6156. SHRI RAJAN VICHARE:
Will the Minister of LAW AND... JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government proposes to enhance the pecuniary jurisdiction of district courts in civil matters;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has held any discussion with the lawyers in this regard; and
(d} if so, the details and outcome thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) & (b} : Control over District and Subordinate Courts is vested in the High Court in accordance with Articles 227 and 235 of the Constitution of India. District Courts in the country have unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction except in the Districts under the jurisdiction of Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Madras High Courts because these four High Courts have original civil pecuniary jurisdiction. State Governments are empowered to enhance pecuniary jurisdiction of district/civil courts in their States. Department of Justice provides comments whenever Bills from State Governments seeking assent of the President of India in this regard are received. Recently, two Bills from Gujarat and one from Maharashtra seeking to raise the pecuniary jurisdiction of civil courts were received. Central Government is concerned with pecuniary jurisdiction of the courts in the Union Territories and the High Court of Delhi...... 2/- 2
(c) & (d) : The Government introduced 'The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2014' in the Rajya Sabha on 17'h February, 2014, proposing to enhance the pecuniary jurisdiction of Delhi District Courts from existing Rs.20 lakh to Rs.2 crore.
The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice while examining the aforesaid Bill, 2014 had discussed the matter... with all stakeholders, including Bar Associations. The lawyers of District Bar Associations of Delhi also held discussions with the Central Government in December, 2014 in which it was requested that the Amendment be taken up for consideration in the Rajya Sabha early. The Bill came up for discussion on 04.03.2015, in the Rajya Sabha. However, it was deferred for consideration with another Bill on the request of some members. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION N0.6740
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 7TH MAY, 2015
Translation of Judgements
6740. SHRI PREMACHANDRAN: ... Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government proposes to introduce any scheme for translation of important decisions of Supreme Court and High Courts into regional languages and Hindi;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to introduce programmes for creating public awareness regarding the important legislations of the Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and important judgements of Higher Courts; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) & (b) : There is no such proposal or scheme under consideration of the Government.
(c) & (d) : Indian Law Institute is an autonomous body, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The objectives of the Institute are to cultivate the science of law, to promote advanced studies and research in law so as to meet the social, economic and other needs of the Indian people, to promote systematization of law, to encourage and conduct investigations in legal and allied fields, to
...... 21- 2 improve legal education, to impart instructions in law, and to publish studies, books, periodicals, etc. The Government has uploaded all Central Acts of Parliament from 1936 onwards on lndiacode.nic.in. The judgments of Supreme Court and High Courts are uploaded regularly by the Courts on their respective websites.
... GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5016
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 23•• APRIL, 2015
Various Tribunals
+5016. SHRI MANSHANKAR NINAMA: SHRI M.B. RAJESH: SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI: DR. RAVINDRA BABU:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of Tribunals/Appellate Tribunals including special Tribunals functioning in the country along with the annual budgetary expenditure thereon, State-wise; (b) whether the Government proposes to set up Appellate Tribunals for expeditious disposal of pending cases and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government proposes to streamline and bring uniformity in the administration of the Tribunals in appointment, removal and terms and conditions of service of tribunal members and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government proposes to set up unified IT infrastructure to keep track of the cases dwelt by these Tribunals and if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether any committee or Group of Ministers (GoM) has been set up to consider the proposal to bring all these Tribunals under the Ministry of Law and Justice and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (e): Details of Tribunals/Appellate Tribunals and their annual budgetary expenditure are not centrally maintained as they are being administered by different Ministries/Departments of the Government. In pursuance of observations of the Supreme Court in its judgments in the L. Chandra Kumar case (AIR 1997 SC 1125-1155) and R. Gandhi case (CA 3067 of 2004), the Government undertook inter - ministerial consultations -2-
and decided that neither was there any need nor was it feasible to bring all Tribunals under the administrative control of one nodal Ministry/Department. In pursuance of directions of the Supreme Court in its order dated 04.12.2012 in the Rajiv Garg case (W.P. (C) 120/2012), the Government constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) on 13.03.2013 to consider and examine all issues relating to uniformity of retirement age, conditions relating to tenure of appointment and provisions concerning residential and office accommodation etc. The GoM recommended to provide uniformity of conditions of service for Chairpersons and Members of 26 Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities who are headed either by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court. The Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (Conditions of Service) Bill, 2014 has been introduced in Rajya Sabha on 19th February, 2014. However, this Bill does not provide for any mechanism to set up unified IT infrastructure to keep track of cases dealt by the Tribunals. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO.*160
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY 05TH MARCH, 2015
All India Judicial Service
*160. SHRI MAHEISH GIRRI: SHRI K. N. RAMACHANDRAN:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the present status of progress made in the creation of an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) in the country; (b) whether the views sought from States and High Courts in regard to proposed AIJS have been received and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government has set up any advisory council for the purpose and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the other steps taken / being taken by the Government for creation of AIJS expeditiously? ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (d) of LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *160 FOR ANSWER ON 05th MARCH, 2015.
A comprehensive proposal was formulated for the constitution of an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) and the same was approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November, 2012. The proposal was included as an agenda item in the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Courts held in April, 2013. It was decided in the Conference that issue needs further deliberation and consideration. The views of the State Governments and High Courts were sought on the proposal. 15 State Governments and 17 High Courts have furnished their views. Divergence of opinion among the State Governments and High Courts on constitution of All India Judicial Service still persists. ***********
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO.*521
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY 30TH APRIL, 2015
Pendency in Courts
*521. SHRI N. K. PREMACHANDRAN:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the number of cases pending in Supreme Court and High Courts, separately and the reasons therefor; (b) whether the Government proposes to reduce the litigation expenses as well as pendency in the courts and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether alleged irregularities in the recruitment of judicial officers in the subordinate judiciary have come to the notice of the Government and if so, the details thereof along with the reaction of the Government thereon; (d) whether suggestions have been received from various quarters for setting up of Recruitment Boards for the recruitment of judicial officers; and (e) if so, the details thereof and the follow up action taken thereon?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) of LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *521 FOR ANSWER ON 30TH APRIL, 2015.
The data on pendency of cases is maintained by Supreme Court and High Courts. As per the information furnished by Supreme Court, 61,081 cases were pending in Supreme Court as on 01.04.2015. As per information furnished by High Courts, 41.53 lakh cases were pending in High Courts as on 31.12.2014. High Court-wise pendency position is annexed.
Some of the main factors responsible for pendency of cases in courts are increasing number of state and central legislations, accumulation of first appeals, continuation of ordinary civil jurisdiction in some of the High Courts, vacancies of Judges, appeals against orders of quasi-judicial forums going to High Courts, number of revisions / appeals, frequent adjournments, indiscriminate use of writ jurisdiction, lack of adequate arrangement to monitor, track and bunch cases for hearing.
Disposal of pending cases in courts is within the domain of judiciary. The Government has adopted a co-ordinated approach to assist judiciary for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial systems, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerisation, increase in strength of judicial officers / judges, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation and emphasis on human resource development.
The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to inter-alia implement legal aid programmes for eligible persons. NALSA is also promoting amicable settlement of disputes through Lok Alalats which is a cost effective alternative dispute resolution mechanism.
The recruitment of judicial officers / judges in Districts and Subordinate Courts is within the domain of State Governments and High Courts concerned. In exercise of powers conferred under article 309 read with articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution, the State Governments frame rules and regulations in consultation with the High Courts for recruitment of persons to Judicial Service. The recruitment process is carried out either through State Public Service Commission or by High Courts. Supreme Court is monitoring the recruitment of Subordinate Judiciary in Malik Mazhar Sultan & Another versus U.P. Public Service Commission & Others.
A proposal for All India Judicial Service was formulated which inter-alia included the provisions for recruitment through National Judicial Service Commission (NJSC). The views of State Governments and High Courts were sought on the proposal. High Courts and State Governments have expressed divergent opinions on the matter. *********** Annexure Statement referred to Lok Sabha Starred Question No.*521 for reply 30.04.2015 regarding Pendency in Courts
High Court-wise pendency of Cases as 31.12.2014 Sl. Pendency of Cases in High Name of High Court No Courts As on 31.12.2014 1 Allahabad 10,14,146 2 Bombay 3,64,576 3 Calcutta 2,86,306 4 Punjab & Haryana 2,79,699 5 Madras 2,63,569 6 Madhya Pradesh 2,58,716 7 Andhra Pradesh 2,49,701 8 Rajasthan 2,28,353 9 Karnataka 2,14,120 10 Orissa 2,02,082 11 Kerala 1,45,906 12 Patna 1,40,990 13 Jammu &Kashmir 1,02,156 14 Gujarat 95,302 15 Jharkhand 80,815 16 Delhi 66,989 17 Chhattisgarh 45,077 18 Gauhati 43,048 19 Himachal Pradesh 39,616 20 Uttarakhand 23,105 21 Tripura 4,465 22 Manipur 4,374 23 Meghalaya 738 24 Sikkim 108 Total 41,53,957 *****************
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 501
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 26TH FEBRUARY, 2015
Courts and Residential Complexes
†501. SHRI ABHISHEK SINGH:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the total funds sanctioned and utilised for the construction of court buildings and residential complexes for court employees during the last three years; (b) whether the Government proposes to construct residential and court complexes under Left-Wing Extremism affected areas in the country; (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (d) whether the Government of Chhattisgarh during 2013 had requested for allocation of funds for certain pending cases; and (e) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken thereon by the Union Government?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (e) : Development of infrastructure facilities for Judiciary is the primary responsibility of the State Governments. However, in order to augment the resources of the State Governments, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary is being implemented under which central assistance is provided to the State Governments for the construction of court buildings for district and subordinate courts and residential units for judicial officers. On receipt of the complete proposals from the State Governments including utilisation certificates for the funds released earlier, necessary financial assistance is sanctioned to the State Governments in terms of the guidelines of the scheme.
The Scheme is available for all the States and Union Territories. The details of funds released to the State Governments and Union Territories, during the last three years and the current financial year have been indicated in the Statement annexed.
The State Government of Chhattisgarh had been released an amount of Rs. 20.97 crore in 2011-12. The proposal for release of further financial assistance was received from the State Government in 2013-14, without furnishing the utilisation certificate for the entire amount sanctioned in 2011-12. The State Government, later, furnished a report on the physical and financial progress of projects under the Scheme in June, 2014, based on which an amount of Rs.21.76 crore was released to the State Government of Chhattisgarh in July, 2014. *************** Annexure-I
Statement of Funds Sanctioned to State Governments / Union Territory Administration under Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Infrastructural Facilities for Judiciary during last three years (2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14) and current financial year (2014-15) (Rs. In lakhs) Sl. State Funds Funds Funds Funds No. Sanctioned in Sanctioned in Sanctioned in Sanctioned in 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 1 Andhra Pradesh 1888.00 6393.00 0.00 2 Bihar 0.00 1524.00 0.00 4909.35 3 Chhattisgarh 2097.00 0.00 0.00 2176.60 4 Goa 172.00 0.00 0.00 5 Gujarat 0.00 9893.00 10000.00 10000.00 6 Haryana 2138.00 0.00 3632.00 7 Himachal Pradesh 0.00 0.00 806.00 8 Jammu & Kashmir 1035.00 2572.00 3428.00 3429.00 9 Jharkhand 0.00 1500.00 1693.00 3044.00 10 Karnataka 2961.00 7610.00 10384.00 16370.00 11 Kerala 1169.00 1499.00 0.00 12 Madhya Pradesh 4403.00 2046.00 6141.00 6141.00 13 Maharashtra 12915.00 5920.24 10000.00 9975.00 14 Orissa 2416.00 1534.00 0.00 15 Punjab 0.00 7902.00 12000.00 9805.00 16 Rajasthan 1172.00 1042.00 0.00 17 Tamilnadu 0.00 1953.00 7343.00 18 Uttarakhand 0.00 829.76 2043.00 3559.05 19 Uttar Pradesh 15659.00 9398.00 12530.00 12531.00 20 West Bengal 2518.00 0.00 0.00 2000.00 Total (A) 50543.00 61616.00 80000.00 83940.00 NE States 1 Arunachal Pradesh 972.00 750.00 0.00 1000.00 2 Assam 2890.00 2954.90 0.00 3 Manipur 0.00 0.00 1500.00 2000.00 4 Meghalaya* 0.00 0.00 1474.00 1709.00* 5 Mizoram 0.00 704.78 812.56 1085.00 6 Nagaland 169.00 750.00 0.00 2016.00 7 Sikkim 0.00 549.50 2802.84 8 Tripura 0.00 1495.60 2910.60 1550.00 Total (B) 4031.00 7204.78 9500.00 9360.00 UTs 1 A&N Islands 500.00 0.00 0.00 2 Chandigarh 500.00 0.00 0.00 3 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 500.00 0.00 0.00 4 Daman & Diu 0.00 0.00 0.00 5 Delhi 2250.00 2000.00 0.00 6 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 0.00 7 Pondicherry 1250.00 0.00 0.00 Total (C) 5000.00 2000.00 0.00 Grand Total (A+B+C) 59574.00 70820.78 89500.00 93300.00 *Sanction Order for Meghalaya is under revision. *************
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 607
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 26TH FEBRUARY, 2015
Bail Application
607. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of cases pending in the Supreme Court as on date; (b) the number of bail applications pending in the Supreme Court as on date; (c) whether there is any procedure to accord priority for disposal of bail application of any person on the basis of his or her status; (d) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor; and (e) the total number of bail applications disposed of by the Supreme Court during the last three years, year-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (e) : The information was sought from the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court has furnished requisite information as follows:
The total number of matters pending as on 19.02.2015 are 61,771 out of which 17,443 are upto one year old and thus arrears (i.e. cases pending more than a year) are 44,328 matters.
The number of bail matters pending are not categorised specifically as a subject category. The bail applications are reflected in Subject Category 1409 “Criminal matters relating to bail / interim bail / anticipatory bail and including suspension of sentence”. As on 19.02.2015, 705 matters were pending under the aforesaid subject category.
The 705 cases pending under the aforesaid Subject Category 1409 is primarily inclusive of the applications moved for suspension of sentence in the SLPs and the criminal appeals. The number of cases (705) do not exclusively reflect the pendency of bail applications alone.
The total number cases disposed of in the last three years, in respect of subject category 1409 “Criminal matters relating to bail / interim bail / anticipatory bail and including suspension of sentence” are as under:
Year Number of Bail Applications disposed of 2012 2543 2013 2645 2014 2926 2015 437
All the bail applications are given priority as per guidelines and listed before the Hon‟ble Court through the next Advance List, instead of giving priority to bail applications on basis on the financial or social status of a person. In addition to this, bail applications registered along with fresh matters on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday are listed before the Hon‟ble Court on Monday in the next week and those registered on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are listed on Friday in the next week before the Hon‟ble Court. *******************
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 617
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 26TH FEBRUARY, 2015
Pending Court Cases
617. SHRI HARISH MEENA: SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV: SHRI RAM TAHAL CHOUDHARY: DR. KIRIT SOMAIYA: SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY: SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN: SHRI NITYANAND RAI: SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI: SHRI VIRENDER KASHYAP: SHRI RADHESHYAM BISWAS: SHRI LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV: SHRI GUTHA SUKENDER REDDY: SHRI RAVNEET SINGH: SHRI M. B. RAJESH: SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY: SHRI VENKATESH BABU T. G.: SHRI B. V. NAIK: SHRI MULLAPALLY RAMACHANDRAN: SHRI K. N. RAMACHANDRAN:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of criminal and civil cases, as on date, pending in the Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Courts in the country showing the cases pending for more than ten years separately and the total number of cases disposed of during the last three years in these courts, court and year-wise; (b) whether the Government has assessed the reasons for delay in justice delivery; (c) if so, the details thereof along with remedial action taken / being taken by the Government in this regard including filling of large number of vacancies of Judges in various courts; (d) whether the Government has received certain suggestions / recommendations from various quarters including from Law Commission for expeditious disposal of pending cases; and (e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken / being taken by the Government on these suggestions / recommendations?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (e) : The data on pendency of cases is maintained by the Supreme Court and High Courts. As per the information made available by Supreme Court, 50,343 civil cases and 11,443 criminal cases were pending in Supreme Court as on 20.02.2015. The number of cases disposed of by the Supreme Court in last three years are as follows:- Year Number of Cases Disposed 2012 68,744 2013 77,085 2014 92,722 The total number of cases pending in the Supreme Court for more than 10 years as on 31.01.2015 are 704.
As per the information received from High Courts, 31.16 lakh civil cases and 10.37 lakh criminal cases were pending as on 31.12.2014 in various High Courts. In District and Subordinate Courts, 82.34 lakh civil cases and 182.53 lakh criminal cases were pending as on 31.12.2014. Details of cases disposed during the last three years and cases pending for more than ten years in the High Courts and District / Subordinate Courts are given in the Statement annexed.
Some of the main factors responsible for pendency of cases in courts are increasing number of state and central legislations, accumulation of first appeals, continuation of ordinary civil jurisdiction in some of the High Courts, vacancies of Judges, appeals against orders of quasi-judicial forums going to High Courts, number of revisions / appeals, frequent adjournments, indiscriminate use of writ jurisdiction, lack of adequate arrangement to monitor, track and bunch cases for hearing.
The Government has adopted a co-ordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration by providing support for better court infrastructure including computerisation, encouraging increase in the strength of subordinate judiciary and initiating policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation.
As per the Memorandum of Procedure, initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges of a High Court rests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court and for appointment of a Judge in the Supreme Court, it rests with the Chief Justice of India. The Government is periodically reminding the Chief Justices of the High Courts to initiate proposals in time for filling up the existing vacancies as well as the vacancies anticipated in the next six months in the High Courts. The filling up of vacancies in the High Courts is a continuous consultative process among the Constitutional authorities. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies do keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges. For filling of vacancies in District and Subordinate Courts, the matter is regularly pursued with the High Courts.
The Law Commission of India, in its 245th Report, titled “Arrears and Backlog Creating Additional Judicial (wo) manpower”, inter-alia, recommended „Rate of Disposal Method‟ for calculating adequate judge strength for District and Subordinate Courts. The other recommendations of the Law Commission in the Report include increasing the retirement age of judges of subordinate courts, creation of special morning and evening courts for traffic / police challan cases, provision of adequate staff and infrastructure for the working of additional courts and enabling uniform data collection and data management method by High Courts in order to ensure transparency and to facilitate data based policy prescriptions for the Judicial System. As the subject matter of creation and filling up of posts in subordinate judiciary falls within the domain of State Governments and High Courts, the recommendations of the Law Commission have been forwarded to them. **************** Annexure Statement referred to in Lok Sabha Un-starred Question No. 617 dated 26.02.2015 regarding Pending Court Cases Statement of cases disposed of in the High Courts during the last three years (2012, 2013 and 2014) and cases pending for more than ten years as on 31.12.2014 Sl. High Court Disposal of cases in the year 2012 Disposal of cases in the year 2013 Disposal of cases in the year 2014 Number of cases No pending for more than ten years as on 31.12.2014 Civil Criminal Civil Criminal Civil Criminal Civil Criminal 1 Allahabad 128992 118547 129670 107151 184365 125929 240634 94358
2 Andhra 51083 15047 43504 14774 47758 18481 21589 58 Pradesh 3 Bombay 143195 30825 105658 35103 99671 30909 70319 10438
4 Calcutta 52429 25999 111189 23749 73783 21873 39457 21488
5 Delhi 25509 10147 23037 12334 25239 14915 3025 1139
6 Gujarat 40844 22934 39260 25190 46077 28367 7285 4051
7 Gauhati 21689 14024 17198 13110 15591 11876 208 16
8 Himachal 34308 3464 33386 3069 57710 4560 289 7 Pradesh 9 Jammu 14844 1536 22316 2600 20868 2283 6047 123 &Kashmir 10 Karnataka 107917 13707 114223 13911 104837 14987 906 29
11 Kerala 58801 20000 49544 19327 52738 19435 7104 2385
12 Madras 168992 77208 143734 88083 66615 63339 65463 4365
13 Madhya 60205 40076 67481 43867 76161 53212 9243 13132 Pradesh 14 Orissa 35982 45406 32925 37337 39150 37373 28148 4456
15 Patna 34454 56874 28346 53997 39501 65454 11178 6478
16 Punjab & 59209 49057 61517 49948 64255 50546 54452 3289 Haryana 17 Rajasthan 85701 45576 84863 43065 46268 37524 19241 13989
18 Sikkim 77 49 73 67 144 86 0 0
19 Uttarakhand 7863 5753 7934 7727 8068 5318 177 161
20 Chhattisgarh 17868 9949 17923 10283 18075 12354 2782 3526
21 Jharkhand 11072 18958 6372 19598 5963 16364 2069 4511 22 Tripura* 3418 961 3888 6 0 1256 23 Manipur* 2613 64 1855 71 9 0
24 Meghalaya* 986 432 1482 242 0 0
Total 1161034 625136 1147170 625747 1100062 636754 589631 187999 *Operationalization of 3 new High Courts was notified on 23rd March 2013. Note: Data / Figures in respect the year 2014 are provisional. Source: Information / Data collected from all High Courts Continued…..2/- …2… Cases pending for more than ten years and Cases disposed of in the District / Subordinate Courts during the last three years (2012, 2012 and 2013) Sl States Disposal of cases in Disposal of cases in Disposal of cases in the No. of cases pending . the year 2012 the year 2013 year 2014 more than 10 years as N on 31.12.2014 o Civil Criminal Civil Criminal Civil Criminal Civil Criminal 1 Andhra 255301 351146 208379 306488 243189 403941 5988 6004 Pradesh and Telangana 2 Arunachal 1226 6129 1339 6105 1602 6013 3 84 Pradesh 3 Assam 41697 198009 41639 273033 40894 235244 710 2549 4 Bihar 50825 253961 48755 266831 46089 259494 39853 120852 5 Chhattisgarh 23152 138952 23456 155609 36412 200389 5337 13281 6 Goa 12189 21697 10254 20463 9224 21401 1650 97 7 Gujarat 217599 854524 193092 944067 155628 976805 104181 245654 8 Haryana 184260 549331 170913 437402 164568 422817 192 160 9 Himachal 58979 187073 71309 222266 61282 348450 391 161 Pradesh 10 Jammu & 56385 234715 53753 253439 59165 238081 1479 1264 Kashmir 11 Jharkhand 15133 108644 15692 102384 17200 92868 4372 6644 12 Karnataka 297896 737810 291824 725613 307347 1059694 226342 226418 13 Kerala 321016 791326 336228 835593 312400 1043526 3890* 729* 14 Madhya 172567 1045166 202857 1070580 176972 936410 6004 12300 Pradesh 15 Maharashtra 455733 1592522 386075 1324105 364289 1172033 67611 145641 16 Manipur 4545 10027 4258 11931 4101 10156 143 749 17 Meghalaya 914 2068 1373 1911 3019 8672 260 521 18 Mizoram 3783 7964 4178 6092 4793 5954 2 0 19 Nagaland 1226 1953 1595 1467 1234 1813 6 11 20 Orissa 41771 258566 56459 358313 53720 416365 21683 134942 21 Punjab 234932 523995 171564 440107 166302 382998 692 431 22 Rajasthan 199227 951581 198729 1001016 177092 954936 29493 70208 23 Sikkim 555 1358 620 1526 523 1485 3 0 24 Tamil Nadu 858516 641368 904787 939269 291512 1353817 22257 19810 25 Tripura 7271 141417 7889 150949 7194 185809 258 4112 26 Uttar Pradesh 493846 2304844 532397 2434124 494508 2687810 211314 565345 27 Uttarakhand 31203 147206 25918 196400 27935 192725 1190 2580 28 West Bengal 104613 887754 114317 1069972 120923 968386 56602 47473 and A & N Island 29 Chandigarh 13484 125074 13334 140438 15529 165087 18 27 30 D & N Haveli 2376 6075 914 2430 678 2093 95 232 and Daman & Diu 31 Delhi 95668 823015 94961 862193 140943 789789 6319 13114 32 Lakshadweep 26 70 5 88 12 83 4* 1* 33 Pondicherry 17969 15930 15885 16594 8732 19899 1956 2607 Total 4275883 1392127 4204748 1457879 3515011 15565043 820298 1644001 0 8 *Information as on 31.12.2014 not furnished by concerned High Court so far. Hence, Figures / Data given for the last year (i.e. as on 31.12.2013) Note: Data / Figures in respect the year 2014 are provisional. Source: Information / Data collected from all High Courts ******************
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 655
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 26TH FEBRUARY, 2015
Ease of Doing Business Index
655. SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether a large number of cases pending in Indian courts and non- implementation of judicial reforms have been cited by the World Bank as one of the reasons for India‟s low rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the reaction of the Government thereto; (c) whether the World Bank has suggested certain reforms in performance appraisal system in judiciary to bring about uniformity, objectivity and standardization; and (d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken / being taken thereon by the Government?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) and (b) : The World Bank‟s Doing Business Report assesses the “ease of doing business” in different economies based on the study of the areas that affect the business. „Enforcing contracts‟ is one of the areas covered in the study. The ranking on the „enforcing contracts‟ indicator is based on the assessment of the procedures, time and cost involved in resolving a commercial dispute.
The Government has adopted a co-ordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration by providing support for better court infrastructure including computerisation, encouraging increase in the strength of subordinate judiciary and initiating policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation. …2…
(c) and (d) : Determining performance indicators and assessing the performance of judges is in the domain of the judiciary. The Hon‟ble Supreme Court has formulated and notified the Policy and Action Plan for the National Court Management System (NCMS). Under the NCMS, a sub-committee has looked into the issue of developing a National Framework of Court Excellence to set measurable standards of performance for courts and a monitoring mechanism to measure these performance parameters. The Sub-Committee has submitted its report to the NCMS. ****************
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1629
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 05TH MARCH, 2015
Gram Nyayalayas
1629. DR. SHASHI THAROOR:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the details of targets set and achieved for setting up of Gram Nyayalayas in the country under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 so far along with the funds released during each of the last three years for the purpose, State/UT-wise; (b) the steps being taken by the Union Government to address the problems indicated by various States in setting up these Nyayalayas and enable them to set up remaining Nyayalayas under the said Act; (c) the steps taken / being taken by the Government to ensure expeditious disposal of cases lying pending in these Nyayalayas; and (d) the other steps taken / being taken by the Government in this regard?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (d) In terms of Section 3 (1) of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, it is for the State Governments to establish Gram Nyayalayas in consultation with the respective High Courts. State-wise progress of setting up of Gram Nyayalayas and the financial assistance provided to State Governments during the last three years and current year is as under:-
Sl. No. State Gram Amount released (Rs. in Lakhs) Nyayalayas 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Notified 1 Madhya 89 156.80 0.00 284.80 0.00 Pradesh 2 Rajasthan 45 144.00 243.00 215.20 71.78 3 Karnataka 2 25.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 4 Orissa 16 110.60 0.00 0.00 0.00 5 Maharashtra 18 9.60 15.80 0.00 100.80 6 Jharkhand 6 0.00 75.60 0.00 0.00 7 Goa 2 0.00 25.20 0.00 0.00 8 Punjab 2 0.00 25.20 0.00 0.00 9 Haryana 2 0.00 25.20 0.00 0.00 10 Uttar Pradesh 12 0.00 0.00 0.00 127.42 Total 194 446.20 410.00 500.00 300.00
Majority of States have now set up regular courts at Taluka level. Further, reluctance of police officials and other State functionaries to invoke jurisdiction of Gram Nyayalayas, lukewarm response of the Bar, non-availability of notaries and stamp vendors, problem of concurrent jurisdiction of regular courts are other issues indicated by the States which are coming in the way of operationalization of the Gram Nyayalayas.
The issues affecting operationalization of the Gram Nyayalayas were discussed in the Conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers of the States on 7th April, 2013. It was decided in the Conference that the State Governments and High Courts should decide the question of establishment of Gram Nyayalayas wherever feasible, taking into account their local problems. The focus is on setting up Gram Nyayalayas in the Talukas where regular courts have not been set up. ******
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1791
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 05TH MARCH, 2015
Disposal of Commercial Disputes
1791. DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT: SHRI RAJAN VICHARE: SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI: SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK: SHRI SATAV RAJEEV: SHRI MOHITE PATIL VIJAYSINH SHANKARRAO:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the steps taken / being taken to ensure expeditious disposal of commercial disputes for creating conducive climate for the success of ‘Make in India’ campaign and to attract investment particularly foreign investment; (b) the number of cases of commercial disputes pending in various courts in the country as on date along with the number of cases disposed of during each of the last three years; (c) whether the Government proposes to set up commercial courts across the country and if so, the details thereof along with the locations identified for the purpose; and (d) the other steps taken / being taken by the Government for expeditious disposal of such cases for improving the investment climate in the country?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (d) : The Government has accorded high priority for improving the ease of doing business in India to facilitate the Make in India campaign. „Enforcing contracts‟ is one of the areas which affects India‟s ranking on ease of doing business index. The ranking on the „enforcing contracts‟ indicator is based on the assessment of the procedures, time and cost involved in resolving a commercial dispute.
The Law Commission of India has recently submitted its Two Hundred and Fifty Third Report titled “Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015”. The Report, inter-alia, defines commercial disputes and recommends the establishment of Commercial Courts and Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division in the High Courts in order to ensure speedy disposal of high value commercial suits. At present commercial disputes fall within the broader category of civil cases. No separate data on commercial disputes is maintained centrally.
The Government has adopted a co-ordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration by providing support for better court infrastructure including computerisation, encouraging increase in the strength of subordinate judiciary, promoting dispute resolution through alternative mechanisms and initiating policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation. ****************
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4885
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 23RD APRIL, 2015
Pending Criminal Appeals 4885. SHRI SENGUTTUVAN B.:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of criminal appeals lying pending for more than three years in Supreme Court and High Courts in the country; (b) the total number of criminal appeals against imposition of death penalty and life sentence; (c) the main reasons for the delay of more than three years in the disposal of the criminal appeals against death penalty and life sentences; and (d) the steps taken / being taken by the Government to ensure disposal of these appeals in a time bound manner?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (d): The information is being collected and will be laid on the Table of the House.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6105
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 30TH APRIL, 2015
Pending Criminal Trials 6105. SHRI SENGUTTUVAN B.:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of criminal trials regarding the offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act lying pending for more than five years in Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Courts as on December, 2014; (b) the reasons for the delay in their disposal; and (c) the steps taken / being taken by the Government for expeditious disposal of these cases?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (c): The information is being collected and will be laid on the Table of the House.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6112
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, 30TH APRIL, 2015
Expeditious Disposal of Pending Cases 6112. SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI LEKHI:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has undertaken or proposes to undertake any study regarding criminal justice delivery system in foreign countries particularly China to emulate their higher disposal rates; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the entities likely to be engaged for the purpose; (c) whether the Government has devised or proposes to devise new measures for effecting expeditious disposal of court cases; and (d) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a): No, Madam.
(b) : Does not arise.
(c) & (d) : The Law Commission of India has undertaken a Comprehensive Review of Criminal Justice System for time bound disposal of criminal cases. Further, the Government has adopted a co-ordinated approach to assist the judiciary for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial systems, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerisation, increase in strength of judicial officers / judges, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation and emphasis on human resource development. ****************
GOVERNMENT OF iNDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ******
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION 6012
TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 30TH APRIL, 2015
legal Aid Poor •-. +6012, SHRI BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA:
\Nill Minister of .JUSTICE be pleased to
(a) whether any action plan has been drawn by the Government for the fast and affordable justice system for the poor people in High Courts and the Supreme Court;
(b) if so, the details thereof including the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard;
(c) whether advocates have been appointed by the Government in the High Courts and Supreme Court for the said purpose; and
(d) flso, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) & (b): Yes Madam. Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society and ensures justice for all. In the year 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted by the Parliament which came into force on gth November, 1995 to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal opportunity. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to monitor and evaluate implementation of legal aid programmes.Legal Services Institutions have been setup at ali levels from Taluk Courts to the Supreme Court. Apart from these legal services institutions, High Court Legal Services committees have been constituted at all High courts and the Supreme court Legal Services Committee at the Supreme court level to provide free legal services to the persons eligible under section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act. The free Legal Aid Services include;
(a) Payment of court fee, process fees and all other charges payable or incurred in connection with any legal proceedings; (b) Providing service of lawyers in legal proceedings; (c) Obtaining and supply of certified copies of orders other documents legal Proceedings. (d) Preparation of appeal, paper book including printing and translation of documents in legal proceedings.
Persons eligible for getting fre'e legal inch.1de:~ i) Women and children; ii) Members of SC/ST iii) Industrial workmen iv) Victims of mass disaster, violence, flood, drought, earthquake, industrial disaster. v) Disabled persons. vi) Persons in custody vii) Persons whose annual income does not exceed Rs. 1 lakh (in the Supreme Cour1 Legal Services Committee the limit is Rs. 1, 25,000/-). Victims of Trafficking in Human beings or beggar.
(c) To (d) For legal services advocates, panel lawyers are appointed at all levels including in the High Courts and Supreme Court by the Legal Services Institutions for prosecuting or defending the Court cases on behalf of all persons who are eligible for Legal Services under the above provisions.
***'"*