The Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 (Published by the Supreme Court of India) EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: For Official use Only Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha Hon’ble Mr. Justice R.V. Raveendran COPYRIGHT© 2008 : THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Hon’ble Mr. Justice D.K. Jain Publisher : The Supreme Court of India All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be New Delhi-110001 reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted Website – http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, Book : Annual Report 2007-2008 photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior (Contents mainly relate to 1.10.2007 to permission in writing of the copyright owner. 30-09.2008) Printed at I G Printers Pvt. Ltd. Tel. No: 011-26810297, 26817927 Photography: J.S. Studio (Sudeep Jain) 9810220385 (M) CONTENTS PAGE S. DESCRIPTION NO. NOS. 1. Hon’ble Chief Justice of India & Hon’ble Judges of Supreme Court ................................................................................. 9 2. An overview .......................................................................................... 39 The History Supreme Court – At present Court Building Lawyers’ Chambers Supreme Court Museum Retired Hon’ble Chief Justices Retired Hon’ble Judges 3. Jurisdiction .......................................................................................... 49 Original Appellate Advisory Review Curative Public Interest Litigation 4. The Bar ................................................................................................ 53 5. Court Administration ........................................................................... 55 6. Activities on Judicial Side ................................................................... 59 Filing, Registration & Listing Old and Urgent Matters Recent steps for expediting hearing & disposal Other steps Registrars’ Courts Statement of Institution, disposal & Pendency 7. Arrears Committee ............................................................................... 67 8. Conferences & Meets ........................................................................... 69 Legal Forum Meets Other International Conferences Chief Justices’ Conference Joint Conference of Chief Ministers & Chief Justices Visits of Foreign Delegations 9. Toning up of Registry ............................................................................ 75 Use of IT Library & Information System Digital Signature Transit home-cum-Guest House Other Facilities Recent Initiatives Budget 10. The Supreme Court in the Morning of the 21st Century ........................ 83 11. E-Committee ........................................................................................ 107 Phase - I Phase - II Phase - III 12. Role in Training & Education ............................................................... 109 Judicial Training Programmes held from October 2007 to May 2008 Legal Education Law Clerks 13. ADR & Mediation ................................................................................. 115 Mediation & Conciliation Project Committee Supreme Court Lok Adalats National Meet on Mediation & Conflict Resolution 14. Legal Services ...................................................................................... 117 Supreme Court Legal Services Committee Supreme Court Middle Income Group Legal Aid Society NALSA Activities of NALSA 15. Official Publications ............................................................................. 125 16. Court & Media ..................................................................................... 127 THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PREAMBLE WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION. 7 8 1. FROM THE DESK OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA It gives me immense pleasure to present the Annual Report of Supreme Court of India for the year 2007-08. The Annual Reports of the previous years have been received very well, not only in India, but, also in other jurisdictions and have earned appreciation and recognition from all quarters. The Constitution of India declares it to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. It also affirms a determination to secure liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and equality of status and opportunity. The preamble to the Constitution resolves to provide justice to our people in all its forms: social, economic and political. Our Constitution intends to remove social and economic disparities, so as to make equal opportunities available to all and make the life of the poor, disadvantaged and disabled citizens of the country really meaningful and worthwhile, by removing economic inequalities, protecting the weaker sections of the society, and providing a decent standard of living to our people. The success of Indian Judiciary on the constitutional front is unparalled and its contribution in enlarging and enforcing human rights is universally appreciated. Indian courts are held in high esteem not only by developing, but, by developed countries as well. There is wide-spread praise for the quality of the judgments delivered and the work being done by Indian Judiciary. Their handling of Public Interest Litigation has brought Judicial Institutions closer to the oppressed weaker sections of the Society. Using tools of innovating and creative interpretation of Constitutional provisions, our courts have consistently endeavoured to render meaningful justice to the women, children, undertrial prisoners, bonded and casual labourers and other weaker and socially oppressed sections of the society. The concept of right to life has been expanded so as to include the right to live with dignity with bare necessities such as adequate nutrition, health, clothing and shelter. The enormous work done by Supreme Court of India in developing the concept of rule of law and due process of law, enshrined in Article 21 of our Constitution, and enlarging its scope, has been publicly 9 appreciated at various international forums and we, the citizens of India, can legitimately feel proud of this recognition. Judicial intervention has made it possible to seek enforcement of rights such as right to food, right to education and right to live in a healthy environment. However, there is also a growing criticism, sometimes from uninformed or ill-informed quarters, about the inability of our Justice Delivery System to provide timely justice and wipe out the huge backlog of cases at all levels. India has been making rapid strides in almost all the fields. Revolution in the field of communication, coupled with rising of literacy level, is resulting in increased awareness of legal rights, thereby increasing the number of cases coming to the courts for adjudication. Sincere efforts are being made at all levels to increase the output being given by our system and there has been substantial increase in disposal of cases, despite full judge-strength not being available to us. Supreme Court of India disposed of 38842 cases in the year 2001, whereas it disposed of 61957 cases in the year 2007 without there being any increase in the sanctioned strength of judges. As many as 53976 cases were disposed of by Supreme Court of India in the first 9 months of the current calendar year. However, institution of fresh cases increased from 39419 cases in the year 2001 to 69103 cases in the year 2007. 56396 cases were instituted in Supreme Court of India in first 9 months of the calendar year 2008. 1093598 cases were disposed of by High Courts in the year 2001. The disposal was increased to 1505073 cases in the year 2007 without commensurate increase in the number of Judges. But the Institution of cases in the High Courts increased from 1215426 cases in the year 2001 to 1590816 cases in the year 2007. The High Courts disposed of 716853 cases in the first half of this calendar year. This, however, was accompanied by institution of 805350 cases during this period. Our subordinate courts disposed of 12494911 cases in the year 2001. They were able to increase the disposal to 14797506 cases in the year 2007, despite non-availability of required infrastructure and adequate increase in their strength. But, the institution increased from 13438170 cases in the year 2001 to 15099421 cases in the year 2007. In the first half of this year, our Subordinate Courts disposed of 7356171 cases. The fresh institution during this period was 7934948. The average disposal per judge in the year 2007, was 2538 cases in the High Courts and 1182 cases in Subordinate Courts. Increase in the number of cases, on account of spread of legal literacy and better awareness of legal rights, is a welcome development and should not be a cause of concern. We, however, owe a duty to find suitable ways and means to cope with the increased load of work on the system. The need of the hour is to act swiftly and decisively, so as to retain the confidence of our people in the credibility and efficacy of our Justice Delivery System. Litigation through courts and