LOK SABHA

Budget Session – 3rd Session of 17th Lok Sabha WEDNESDAY, 05th FEBRUARY 2020

INDEX

S.No. Question Question Date Subject Division Page No. Type Nos. 1. Question Starred 05.02.2020 Multilingual App of the Justice.I 2-5 No.52 Supreme Court 2. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 District Courts NM 6-10 No.471 3. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Judicial Infrastructure JR 11-14 No.483 4. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Fast Track Courts Justice.II 15-19 No.486 5. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Fast Track Courts Justice.II 20-21 No.551 6. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Limit on Number of NM 22 No.556 Appeals 7. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Shortage of Court JR 23-25 No.594 Rooms 8. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Judicial Vacancies Appointment 26-27 No.657 Division 9. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Legal Assistance LAP 28-29 No.666 10. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Pending cases in NM 30-31 No.670 Bombay High Courts 11. Question Unstarred 05.02.2020 Pending Court Cases NM 32-37 No.686

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

LOKSABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. 52

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE os" FEBRUARY, 2020

MULTILINGUAL APP OF THE SUPREME COURT t*S2 SHRI ANIL FIROJIYA: SHRI MOHANBHAI KAYANJI KUNDARIYA:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: a) the time by which the new app 'Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software' launched by the Supreme Court of India is likely to become functional; b) the number of languages in which the app is going to provide updates about the legal proceedings; c) whether the provisions are also in place to make the information accessible to the visually impaired; d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and e) whether any other new digitization initiative is being taken to increase the access to legal information by all the citizens of the country including print disabled citizens in near future and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House. STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 52 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 05.02.2020. (a) With a view to enable common people of India to understand the judgments of Supreme Court in easy manner in local languages, SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software) has been developed as a path breaking initiative by the Supreme Court of India in collaboration and with technical support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India aided by experts from "T and "IT. This pilot development of SUVAS is at present in testing, training and refinement phase in 18 High Courts in the country. The work covers translating judgments related to cases arising under the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India in relation to the following subject categories: 1. Labour matters; 2. Rent Act matters; 3. Land Acquisition and Requisitionmatters; 4. Service matters; 5. Compensation matters; 6. Criminal matters; 7. Family Law matters; 8. Ordinary Civil matters; 9. Personal Law matters; 10. Religious and Charitable Endowmentsmatters; 11. Simple money and Mortgage matters; 12. Eviction under the Public Premises(Eviction)Act matters; 13. Land Laws and Agriculture Tenancies; and " .....

14. Matters relating to Consumer Protection.

The translation is functional from English language into Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu languages. Once the pilot phase of testing, training and refinement, as mentioned above, is completed, and the facility becomes functional, it would be rolled out fully in the relevant High Courts.

(b) The Official Multilingual Mobile App of Supreme Court of India, provides updates about the legal proceedings in six languages i.e. English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. (c) & (d) At present the Official Mobile App of Supreme Court is not separately equipped with accessibility of information to visually impaired. (e) Through computerization of 16,845 District & Subordinate Courts and ICT enablement under the eCourts Project Phase-II, several services have been provided to litigants, lawyers and Judiciary which facilitate expeditious delivery of judicial services. eCourts services such as details of case registration, cause list, case status, daily orders & final judgments are available to litigants and advocates through eCourts web portal, Judicial Service Centers (JSC) in all computerized courts, eCourts Mobile App, email service, SMS push & pull services. Integration of eCourts Services through Common Service Centers (CSCs) has been successfully completed. eCourt CNR Service has been enabled through Digital Seva Portal in all CSC locations across the country. National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) for District & Subordinate Courts, created as an online platform under the Project, provides information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of computerized district and subordinate courts of

------_. __ .. _. 0' the country. Currently, all stakeholders including Judicial Officers can access case status information in respect of over 12.97 crore pending and disposed cases and more than 11.·15 crore orders 'judgments pertaining to. these computerized courts. Video Conferencinq facility has been enabled between 3240 court complexes & 1272 corresponding jails. (!J:

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

LOKSABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 471

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE osth FEBRUARY, 2020.

District Courts

471~SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH alias PAWAN RAJENIMBALKAR SHRI SANJAY JADHAV:

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

(a) the number of district courts, district-wise, across the country including the State of Maharashtra and number of cases pending in those courts at present; (b) whether the Government proposes a new plan to provide justice to people related to those pending cases; and (c) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a): The District and Subordinate Courts are set up by the State Governments in consultation with concerned High Courts. As per information available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as on date, there are 3206 Court Complexes in 633 Districts in the country. As per information available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as on 29.01.2020, about 3.19

(b) & (c): Disposal of cases in courts is within the domain of the judiciary. Government has no role in disposal of cases in courts. However, the Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases. The ;/

National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms has.adopted many strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure [court halls and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District, High Court and Supreme Court level, emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases. The major steps taken during the last-five years under various initiatives are as follows: (a} .L!J.1Qfovinginfrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate CouIT§: As on date, R.s. 7,453_10 crores have been released since the inception of the

30.06.2014 to 19,6:32 as on 29.(),L2020 and number of residential units fiH::>

scheme. In addition, 2,713 court haBs and 1,8En residential units are under

construction. (.b) L~.Yi::L~.LQ.~L1Ilf9rn19J~QfLand CQf.Q.m.ldEU,QmLQfLT?9.hn9Jo}r:L,.W;;Jl ...fS;:L,lr.rrQL9~{.?f:l .Ud§~£~_.g§!liv~lY:Government has been implementing the e-Courts rvlisslon f,/1oC!(; F)ro_jectthroughout the country for Information and Communication Technology

anablernent... _"""'1l.JO' ',#' of,",Adistrict"", V and~ _.. subordinate._ i. '" ';, " courts..~\..,I,..,j!¥ ~ Number1"'1 of C"/)·I'n('I·U+!:Irl·''''·':!I,-i• !... &'.,,1 1:,.'.,...... ~.,r)i<.:h·;,"·}•• I.;;J": ~\.:!'j. & Subordinate courts has increased from 13,672 to 16,845 re~l!st.erin~l an increase of 3,173 durin~l 2.0'l4til! date.' New and user-friendly version of Case Information Software has been developed and deployed at an the computerized [l;strict and Subordinate Courts. A.!!stakeholders including .judicia! Officers can access information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of computerized

District ('$.. Subordinate Courts and High Courts em the National Judicial Data (Jrld {r·.,LJDC;I}. Currently, case status information in respect of over '!2.97 crore pending and disposed cases and more than '11.'It:i crore orders! judgments pertainlnq to these computerized courts is available on NJDG. eCourts services such as details of case registration, cause list, case status, d.aily orders & final judgments are available to litigants and advocates through eCourts web portal, Judicial Service Centres (JSC) in all computerized courts, eCourts Mobile App, email service, SMS push & pull services. Video Conferencing facility has been enabled between 324Ucourt complexes and 1272 corresponding jails. (c) Filling up of vacant positions in Supreme Court, High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 30.01.2020, 35 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 515 new Judges were appointed and 435 Additional Judges were made permanent in the High Courts. Sanctioned strength of Judges of High Courts has been increased from 906 in May, 2014 to 1079 currently. Sanctioned and working strength of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts has increased as follows: ~~:~~!~~~~~11sancti~~.~~~~ __ -f~~~~g-!:::~t~-l ______. . ._ . L_ _..J

(d) R~duction in Pendency through I follow ypJ2.y Arrears Committees: In pursuance of resolution passed in Chief Justices' Conference held in April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years. Arrears Committees have been set up under District Judges too. Arrears Committee has been constituted in the Supreme Court to formulate steps to reduce pendency of cases in High Courts and District Courts. (e) I;mphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR}: Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (as amended on zo" August, 2018) stipulates mandatory pre-institution mediation and settlement of commercial disputes. Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been made by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines. (f) !nitiatives to. Fast Track Special Type of Case~: The Fourteenth Finance Commission endorsed the proposal of the Government to strengthen the judicia: system in States. which included, inter-alia, establishing Fast Track Courts for cases of heinous crimes; cases involving senior citizens, women, children etc., and urged the State Governments to use the additional fiscal space provided in the form of enhanced tax devolution form 32% to 42% to meet such requirements. As on 30.09.2019, 704 Fast Track Courts are functional for heinous crimes, crimes against women and children, family and matrimonial disputes, etc. To fast track criminal cases involving elected MPs I MLAs, ten (10) Special Courts are functional in nine (9) States (1 each in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and 2 in NCT of Delhi) and proportionate funds have been released to these States by the Government. Further, Government has approved a scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country far expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape under IPC and crimes under POCSO Act. As on date, 26 States/UTs have joined the scheme for setting up of 648 FTSCs including 363 exclusive POCSO courts. RS.99.35crore (out of the total allocation of Rs.100 crore) has already been released as the first installment to these 26 States.

*********** Annexure Details of cases pending in the District & Subordinate Courts, State-wise [as on 29.01.20201 SI. No Name of States/UTs Total Total Total Number Districts of Court Cases pending in Complexes District and Subordinate 1. Courts$$ A & NIsland 1 2. Andhra Pradesh 4 ------3. 13 187 564693 Tela "!9_ana 10 4. Arunachal Pradesh 106 566407 5. - - Assam -_ 27 ------6. Bihar r+-: 66 297372 7. 37 79 2875713 Chandigarh 1 8. Chhatti~arh 1 48262 9. 23 89 279410 0& N Haveli 1 70~- rDaman & Diu 2 3033 2 11. Delhi 2 2310 12. - 11 12 866265 Goa 2 13. Gt&arat 16 24813 14. 32 328 1611359 Hc!!yana 21 15. Himachal Pradesh 57 869120 16. 11 41 Jammu & Kashmir 20 290465 17. Jharkhand 81 177254 18. 24 24 386064 Karnataka 30 19. Kerala 193 1555617 20. 15 131 1294910 Ladakh 2 21. Lakshadwee_1) 3 450 22. - - Madh_yaPradesh 50 ------23. Maharashtra 208 1449383 24. 40 467 3766460 Man!E_ur 9 25. Me__g_halC!Y_a 18 9826 26. 8 4 Mizoram 2 8847 27. NC!9_aland 8 2544 28. - - Orissa 30 ------29. PUr]_ab 119 1244832 30. 22 67 Rajasthan 35 639683 31. Sikkim 306 1699168 32. 4 5 Tamil Nadu 33 1302 33. PuducheQY_ 251 1153262 34. Tr!E_ura ------35. 8 21 Uttar Pradesh 74 25109 36. Uttarakhand 169 7690966 37. 13 56 208011"- West Be"!9_al 22 Total 85 2290464 633 3206 Note: Data on District and Subordinate Courts In the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland,31903314and Union Territories of Lakshadweep and PudUCherry are not available on the web-portal at NJDG. Data in respect ot Andaman & Nicobar Islands is not available on NJDG Portal . ®

GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRYOF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENTOF JUSTICE

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 483

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY,THE 5TH FEBRUARY, 2020

Judicial Infrastructure

483. SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B:

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

(a) whether a fund of Rupees 7460.20 crore has been allotted by the Government under Centrally sponsored scheme for judicial infrastructure across the country till the current financial year 2019-20; (b) if so, the details thereof State-wise till now and number of court rooms established under the scheme; (c) whether there is any disparity in sharing of such allocated amount between States; (d) if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps taken by the Government to establish adequate number of court rooms under this scheme?

ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b): The Central Government has been administering a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary since 1993-94. A sum of Rs.7,453 crore has so far been released to State Governments/ UTs under the Scheme since its inception. The State-wise release is at Annexure-I. As per the information made available by the High Courts / State Governments, 19,632 Court Halls are available in the country for Judges/Judicial Officer of District and Subordinate courts. Further, 2,713 Court Halls are under construction. The State-wise availability of court halls and under construction court halls is at Annexure-II.

(c)&(d): In order to evolve a transparent criteria for inter-state distribution of funds under Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary, a scientific formula has been adopted from the year 2018-19 on the basis of 4 parameters, namely, (i) number of

------court halls left for construction with reference to sanctioned strength of judicial officers in the State/UT (ii) number of residential units left for construction with reference to sanctioned strength of judicial officers in the State/UT (iii) working strength of judicial officers with reference to sanctioned strength of judicial officers in the State/UT, and (iv) pendency of 10 years and more old cases in subordinate judiciary. These 4 parameters have the weightage criteria in the ratio of 40:40:10:10. Based on such criteria the tentative allocation of funds to States/UTs is informed to the State Governments and UT administration in advance in the beginning of the financial year to enable them to submit their proposals accordingly. Pending submission of utilisation certificates and unspent balance of already allocated funds to a particular State I UT is also taken into considerationwhile releasing grants under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

(e): The Scheme aims to match the available infrastructure of court halls and the residential units of district and subordinate courts with the sanctioned strength of District and Subordinate Courts of Judges and Judicial Officers. However,setting up of Courts in subordinate judiciary is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments. The Central Government has been assisting the State Governments by providing funds for infrastructuredevelopment of the subordinatejudiciary.

******** ·..."

Annexure-I

Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 483 for Reply on 05.02.2020 Statement showing State-wise release of Grants under Centrally Sponsored Scheme for development of Infrastructure facilities for subordinate judiciary. (Rs.in /akh) States Release Release Release Release ~ Release Release Total No. I 1993-94 in 2015- in 2016- in 2017- in 2018- in 2019- to 2014- 16 17 18 19 20 I 15 1 Andhra Pradesh 15964.45 0.00 0.00 0.00 1000.00 1000.0~ 17964.45

2 Bihar 10469.72 0.00 5000.00 4290.00 6204.00 7762.00 33725.72 I 3 ; Chhattisgarh 7181.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 1968.00 983.00 10132.0~~ 4 Goa 799.93 0.00 0.00 0.00 315.00 406.00 1520.9~ 5 Gujarat 35264.42 5000.00 5000.00 5000.00 1502.00 1649.00 53415.42 6 Haryana 9286.42 5000.00 0.00 1500.00 1191.00 1406.00 18383.42 I 7 Himachal Pradesh 2313 0.00 819.00 0.00 408.00 572.00 4112.00 Jammu & Kashmir 12151.6 1325.00 2104.00 1000.00 1901.00 1000.00 19481.60 Jharkhand 8143.52 3044.00 0.00 5000.00 959.00 1374.00 18520.52.1 W·O. Karnataka 43861.85 5000.00 5000.00 5000.00 3812.00 3404.00 66077.8~ ~_!1 lKerala 6087.3 0.00 0.00 2500.00 3082.00 1582.00 13251.301 :._1_2--r-M_ad_h_,.__ya_P~ra_d-,e-,-s_h_-t---=2:..=,5-,-11..:...:3:..:...0:..:..4-t--=5:...=0_=_00=-:.._=_00=-+_--=.:0.:.=_0_=_0-+-5.=.:0::..::0:...=0.:..=.0:.=_0-+-..:....79.::..4.:..;:2:.:.:.O=-=0~...... :4:.=-69.=.:0=-.0.:::...:0=-+-_4:..:..7..:...:74..:...:5:..:...0:..:..4cJ 113 Maharashtra 49941.86 5000.00 4975.00 5000.00 1058.00 2109.00 68083.86: 14 I Odisha 9024.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 2250.00 3569.00 14843.27.!

i 15 Punjab 32384.92 5000.00 4800.00 5000.00 2647.00 1978.00 51809.92 I 116 .1 Rajasthan 6402.51 5000.00 4374.00 1734.00 1741.00 3421.00 226725'1' 17 Tamilnadu 15131.46 0.00 5000.00 0.00 609.00 2871.00 23611,46' f- 18 i Telangana 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 1000.00 565.00 1565.00 ! 19 ' Uttarakhand 8067.16------~-r--~~~------r-~--~------r------,0.00 0.00 2500.00 2202.00 850.00 13619.16; 20 Uttar Pradesh 67660.57 5000.00 5000.00 7500.00 12806.00 12194.00 110160S( i I 21 West Be!l9_aI 10953.46 0.00 0.00 1734.00 3522.00 4143.00 20352.46 J North Eastern States I--1-rA-r-u-na-c-h-al--P-ra-d~es-h--+--3-1-6-3--.4-4~-1-59-3-.0-0-r----0.-0-0+----0-.0-0~----0.-0-0+--2-6-9-.0-0~--5-02-5-.4-~- 2. As.c.cs:....:.a_m -+-__:_11..:...:7_:_7_:_1_:_::.3~---0=-:.-=-00_=_t_-0.00 2000.00 3209.00 3154.00 20134.30i :._3.- i Manipur 4141.71 2000.00 -0-.-00--t-----0-.0-0-t---8-87-.-00-t---6-6-6-.0-0-r---76-9-4--.7-1-I 1-R~~Meghalaya 3480 2037.00 2000.00 863.00 1482.00 1285.00 11147:00] ; 5. Mizoram 3702.29 0.00 0.00 2000.00 594.00 524.00 6820.29 I ~.6. ,N~aland 6795.64 0.00 2000.00 2000.00 321.00 0.00 11116.641 ,7. Sikkim 4630.39 0.00 0.00 0.00 257.00 278.00 5165.39l .~ ~,8. I Tripura 7053.45 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1382.00 8435.45 I , Union Territories i ~ 1. A & N Islands 895.55 0.00 259.68 0.00 131.00 200.00 1486,23 i L 2. i Chandigar_:_:h -r---=3_=_90.=.:0::.:._.9=-:5=---+-_-=0_:_:.0:...=0-+-_-=0:..:...0=-:0'-+- 0=-:._=_00=-+_---=-0:...=.0_=_0+-_--"-0..:..:.0-=-0-t-_3_9~_:0_0_.9_51 ~---t-i .D__&~N_~>La;_;_r_=_H....:;.a_=_v.:c.:el.c,__i__ -+ 7:..:..0::...::6:...:,:.2=5-t-__ ---=.c0.c.::..0..:;_0+_---=O-:-:. 0c..c:0~---0.=..:.~00=-+----0~.0....:;.0-t-_-0-.-00___t__-7-0-6.-25_~ i 4. 0 & Diu 190.00 0.00 42.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 232.43 ' : 5. Delhi 7897.08 6040.32 5000.00 2500.00 0.00 4669.00 26106.40 ~ 6. i Lakshadweep 51.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 51.25 I 7. PuducheQY_ 3148.88 259.68 2500.00 0.00 0.00 331.00 6239.56

L T_ot....:;.a..:;_I -L14..:...:3:..:..7-=-7.::..30=-.7:..:..1:..:..L5.:::...:6~2~9.=.:9.:.=_00.::..L_=_53::..::8=-7_:_4::..::.1~1~6~21.:..=2::..::1~.0~0~6~5_=_00.=.:0=-.O::..::O~7~0=2_=_86=-:.._=_OO:..:..L7=_4_:_::5:.=_3-=-10=-.=82~ Annexure-II Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 483 for Reply on 05.02.2020

Statement on State-wise availability of Court Halls as on 30-01-2020.

SI. States & Union Territories Total number of No. No. of Court Halls Court Halls available 1 under construction Andaman and Nicobar 17 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 602 3 50 Arunachal Pradesh 24 0 4 Assam 371 5 67 Bihar 1476 88 6 Chand!_g_arh 31 7 0 Chhattisgarh 470 22 8 D & N Haveli 3 9 0 Daman & Diu 5 0 10 Delhi 541 11 152 Goa 53 28 12 Guj_arat 1509 13 158 Ha_ryana 551 81 14 Himachal Pradesh 160 15 8 Jammu and Kashmir 202 35 16 Jharkhand 601 17 61 Karnataka 1100 51 18 Kerala 509 19 37 Lakshadweep 3 0 20 Madh_yaPradesh 1452 21 392 Maharashtra 2266 322 22 Manipur 38 9 23 Me_ghala_ya 53 34 24 Mizoram 43 25 26 Nagaland 30 12 26 Odisha 664 27 179 Puducherry 29 7 28 Punjab 572 29 47 Rajasthan 1198 193 30 8ikkim 25 31 1 Tamil Nadu 1132 91 32 Telangana 448 33 28 Tripura 78 10 34 Uttar Pradesh 2312 35 317 Uttarakhand 228 66 36 West Bengal 836 36 141 West Ben_gal 836 141 TOTAL 19632 2713 :®

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ****** LOKSABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. +486

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE s" FEBRUARY, 2020 Fast Track Courts +486. SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH: SHRIMA TI RATHYA GITABEN VAJESINGBHAI: SHRIPARBATBHAI SAVABHAIPATEL: SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA:

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

(a) whether number of crimes against women is increasing in India for which not only strict law but fast judicial process is also necessary;

(b) if so, whether Government has established fast track courts in the country for this purpose;

(c) whether the said courts are operating smoothly in all States, if so, the details thereof; (d) whether all States are covered under these courts and the number of such courts, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) whether the said courts are able to provide justice, if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (e): A comparison of Crime rate of various Crime heads on Crimes against women in the last three years shows no uniform trend. To ensure strict law, the Union of India has enacted the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2012 and 2018. As a measure of fast judicial process for dealing specific natured cases viz. cases of heinous nature, cases pertaining to women, children, senior citizen and other .vulnerable sections and civil cases of property disputes pending for more than five years, the proposal of Union of India for setting up of 1800 Fast Track Courts .. ®. (FTCs) at the cost ofRs. 4144 crore during 2015-20 had been endorsed by the 14th Finance Commission. The Commission urged State Governments to utilise enhanced fiscal space provided through tax devolution (32% to 42%). At present there are 828 numbers of FTCs functional in the country. The status of FTCs as on 31.12.2019 is given at Annexure -I

In furtherance to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, the Union of India has finalized a scheme in August 2019 for setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the Country for expeditious disposal of cases related to rape and Prevention of Children against Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Accordingly, StateslUTs Government have been communicated. 26 StateslUTs have consented and joined the Scheme in favour of whom Central share amounting to Rs. 99.35625 Cr. have been released till date. Status ofFTSCs is given at Annexure-H.

*** Annexure-I Referred in Reply to Lok Sabha Question No +486 for 05/02/2020 Status of Fast Track Court as on 31/12/2019 S.NO. Updation as on 31.12.2019 NO. OF Number of Number of NO. OF CASES NO. OF Court Cases at the Cases disposed during CASES Function beginning of registered Quarter PENDrNG NAME OF THE " '" a12019. Quarter during Quarter (01.10.2019 to AS ON STATES/UTS (01.10.2019 to (01.10.2019 to 31.12.2019) 31.12.2019 31.12.2019) 31.12.2019)

Andhra 21 6555 635 427 6763 Pradesh, 1 Amravati Guwahati High 2 0 0 0 0 0 Court i Assam 19 8144 1283 1319 8108 ii Arunachal 0 0 0 0 0 Pradesh iii Mizoram 2 161 72 79 154 iv Nagaland 0 0 0 0 0 Bombay High 91 91118 46152 29779 107491 3 Court i Goa 0 0 0 0 0 ii Daman & Diu 0 0 0 0 0 Dadar & Nagar 0 0 0 0 0 iii Haveli 4 Chhattisgarh 38 5030 2848 996 6882 Calcutta High 88 48580 4214 3071 49723 5 Court(WB+A& N) 6 Delhi 10 4024 412 226 4210 7 Gujarat 0 0 0 0 0

.: ~ - Punjab & 8 Haryna High Court i Haryana 6 863 223 162 924 ii Punjab 0 0 0 0 0 iii Chandigarh 0 0 0 0 0 9 Patna jilt 57 21483 2616 1789 20774 Himachal 10 0 Pradesh 0 0 0 0 Jammu & 5 11 851 45 20 876 Kashmir 12 Jharkhand 0 4471 452 430 4632 13 Kerala 0 0 0 0 0 i Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 0

14 Karnataka 0 0 0 0 0 Madhya 0 15 0 0 0 0 Pradesh 16 Manipur 4 213 16 19 210 17 Meghalaya 0 0 0 0 0 18 Odisha 0 0 0 0 0 19 Rajasthan 0 0 0 0 0 20 Sikkim 1 7 7 8 6 Tamil Nadu 74 5762 962 688 6036 High 21 Court(TN+Pud ducherry) 22 Tripura 11 849 100 38 937 23 Telangana 29 11226 3666 4942 9950 24 Uttar Pradesh 368 417744 58417 71034 405127 25 Uttrakhand 4 0 650 83 567 Total 828 627081 122770 115110 633370 Annexure-If referred in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. +486 for 05.02.2020 Status of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) as on date 81 States/UTs Total No. of FTSCs Total cost @ I .- State Central Funds No. in the State/UT as Rs.0.75 cr share in share in cr released so per the Scheme cr far Rs. in Cr. 1 Andhra Pradesh 18 13.5 5.4 8.1 0.3

2 Bihar 54 40.5 16.2 24.3 2.025 3 Chhattisgarh 15 11.25 4.5 6.75 1.6875

4 West Bengal 123 92.25 36.9 55.35 5 A& N Islands 1 0.75 0 0.75 6 Delhi 16 12 4.8 7.2 0.9 + 0.9 7 Gujarat 35 26.25 10.5 15.75 3.9375 8 Assam 27 20.25 2.025 18.225 0.5625 + 1.125 9 Aru. Pradesh 3 2.25 0.225 2.025 - 10 Mizoram 3 2.25 0.225 2.025 0.50625 11 Nagaland 1 0.75 0.075 0.675 0.3375 12 Maharashtra . 138 103.5 41.4 62.1 31.05 13 Goa 2 1.5 0.6 0.9 14 Hima. Pradesh 6 4.5 0.45 4.05 0.16875 15 J&K 4 3 0.3 2.7 16 Jharkhand 22 16.5 6.6 9.9 4.95

17 Karnataka 31 23.25 9.3 13.95 6.975

18 Kerala 56 42 16.8 25.2 6.3 19 Madhya Pradesh 67 50.25 20.1 30.15 15.075

20 Manipur 2 1.5 0.15 1.35 0.675 -,- 21 Meghalaya 5 3.75 0.375 3.375 0.28125

22 Odisha 45 33.75 13.5 20.25 5.4 23 Punjab 12 9 3.6 5.4 1.35 24 Haryana 16 12 4.8 7.2 1.8 25 Chandigarh 1 0.75 0 0.75 0.1875 26 Rajasthan 45 33.75 13.5 20.25 5.85 27 Tamil Nadu 14 10.5 4.2 6.3 0.525 28 Tripura 3 2.25 0.225 2.025 1.0125 29 Telangana 36 27 10.8 16.2 1.35 30 Uttar Pradesh 218 163.5 65.4 98.1 2.775

~i Uttarakhand 4 3 0.3 2.7 1.35

Total 1023 767.25 293.25 474 99.35625 1

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ****** LOKSABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. +551

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 5th FEBRUARY, 2020

Fast Track Courts

+551. SHRI GIRIDHARI YADAV:

SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI:

Will the Minister of LAWAND mSTICE be pleased to state?

(a) whether fast track courts have been set up in Bihar;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether funds required for proper functioning of fast track courts are not being released;

(d) if so, the reaction of the Government thereto; and

(e) the amount of funds released for Bihar to carry out the said work during the last three years including the amount of funds utilised out of the funds released for the purpose?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RA VI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (e): Setting up of subordinate courts including Fast Track Courts (FTCs) and its functioning comes within the domain of the State Governments in consultation with the respective High Courts. Considering the need for setting up of FTCs for specific nature of cases pending in Courts viz. cases of heinous nature, civil cases involving senior citizen women and children and other marginalized section of society and civil 2

disputes involving land acquisition etc. pending for more than five years, the Union of India proposed setting up of 1800 FTCs at a total cost of Rs. 4144 Cr. during the period of 2015-2020, in its memorandum to the 14thFinance Commission, including 147 no. of FTCs and an amount of Rs.338.43 cr to the State of Bihar. The Commission endorsed the proposal and urged the State Governments to use the enhanced fiscal space· provided by the Commission in the tax devolution (32% to 42%) to meet the requirements.

As per information obtained from the Patna High Court, out of 147 FTCs recommended under the auspices of the 14th Finance Commission, at present, 57 FTCs are functional in the State of Bihar. The details of funds released and utilized for FTCs for the last three years is as under:

(Rs. in Crore) Financial Year Funds allocated Funds released Funds utilized 2017-18 67.04 17.66 08.52 2018-19 67.686 18.574 08.33 2019-20 40.00 10.43* 06.01

* Funds released and utilised till 31-12-2019. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

LOKSABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 556

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 05th FEBRUARY, 2020.

Limit on Number of Appeals

556. SHRI GURJEET SINGH AUJLA:

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

(a) whether the Government plans to limit the number of Appeals that can be filed by a convict and if so, the details thereof;and (b) whether the Government is taking a realistic view of the holidays available to Judges and enact laws to rationalize holidays available to Judges and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER MINISTEROF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONSAND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a): The provisions relating to filing of appeals in criminal cases is contained in Sections 372 to 394 ( Chapter XXIX) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. There is no proposal presently to limit the number of appeals that can be filed by a convict.

(b) : Holidays in Supreme Court and High Courts are regulated by the respective Courts. Holidays in subordinate courts are regulated by the respective High Courts. The Supreme Court has notified the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 on 2ih May, 2014 wherein, inter-alia, it is provided that the period of summer vacation shall not exceed seven weeks. It is further provided that the length of the summer vacation and the number of holidays for the Court and the offices of the Court shall be such as may be fixed by the Chief Justice and notified in the official Gazette so as not to exceed one hundred and three days, excluding Sundays not falling in the vacation and during holidays. , .' GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

LOK SABHA

UNSTARREDQUESTIONNO.594

TO BE ANSWEREDONWEDNESDAY,THE 5TH FEBRUARY,2020

Shortage of Court Rooms

594. Dr. Umesh G. Jadhav:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICEbe pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has pondered over the shortage of thousands of court rooms in district and subordinate judiciary in the country and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has also contemplated on shortage of residential quarters for district and subordinate judiciary in the country; (c) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and (d) the constraints, if any, being faced by the Central Government to help State Governments in dealing with infrastructural challenges being faced by lower judiciary and the steps taken to address the same?

ANSWER MINISTEROF LAW AND JUSTICE,COMMUNICATIONSAND ELECTRONICS& INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY (SHRIRAVISHANKARPRASAD)

(a) to (c): As per the information made available by the High Courts, there are 19,632 Court Halls available and 2,713 Court Halls are under construction against the working strength of 18,812 Judges/Judicial Officers in the Subordinate Judiciary. In addition there are 17,412 Residential Units available and 1,893 Residential Units are under construction. The Scheme aims to match the available infrastructure of court halls and the residential units of district and subordinate courts with the sanctioned strength of Judges and Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts. A State-wise statement of available judicial Infrastructure in the Subordinate Judiciary vis-a-vis sanctioned and working strength is at Annexure-I.

(d): It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to provide Judicial Infrastructure for District and Subordinate Courts in their respective States. The @. ' aforesaid Centrally Sponsored Scheme is being implemented to augment the resources of State Governments/UTs for construction of court buildings and residential units of Judicial Officersof District and Subordinate Courts. Considerable progress has been made with regard to court buildings and residential units for judicial officers in last five years. Focus is now to match the number of availability of court halls and residential units with 23,782 number of sanctioned strength of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts. ********* - . .. • Annexure-I

Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 594 for Reply on 05.02.202~ Statement showing State-wise Judicial Infrastructure vis-e-vis J of the subordinate Judicia~uMa~r . Court Halls Residential Units -.Sl. Sanctioned Working States & Uts Under Under .No, Strength Strength Available Available Construction Construction Andaman and 1 Nicobar 0 13 17 0 10 2 2 Andhra Pradesh 597 528 602 50 604 11 Arunachal 3 Pradesh 41 27 24 0 24 0 4 Assam 441 412 371 67 294 31 5 Bihar 1925 1161 1476 88 1053 244 6 Chandiqarh 30 29 31 0 30 0 i , 7 Chhattisgarh 468 393 470 22 414 .10 - ---- I 8 D & N Haveli 3 3 3 0 3 0 t r- 9 Daman & Diu 4 3 5 0 5 0 , 10 Delhi 70 ~ 799 681 541 152 350 -- "11 Goa 50 40 53 28 27 4 ~-.-- : '12 Gularat 1521 1185 1509 158 1323 168 ~--'- ~ '13 Haryana 772 475 551 81 499 100 I ~-- - --t I I Himachal ! -. 14 Pradesh 175 153 160 8 151 0 - i jammu and ! I 15 Kashmir 290 232 202 35 123 38 i -. 16 .Jharkhand 677 461 601 61 567 63

Ii I 10 ._--17 Karnataka 1345 1103 1100 51 1112 --_.._ - I 18 [--- Kerala 536 457 509 37 477 0 I 19 I Lakshadweep 0 '- 3 3 3 0 3 .-._

[-._--,,--t 20 JY1ad~Pradesh 2021 1620 1452 392 1517 212 ; ! ~1 ~aharashtra 2189 1941 2266 322 2044 179

22 Manipur 55 39 38 9 16 1 _, -- , ')':1 1 ______4.V - Meghalaya 97 49 53 34 23 33 - : 24 Mizoram 64 , _"-- 1--- 46 43 26 29 8 25 Nagaland 33 26 30 12 39 2

------26 Odisha 919 770 664 179 616 84 i 27 Puducherry --.----- 26 11 29 7 23 6 ----- , 28 - _ Punjab 675 579 572 47 527 48 _.- - 2~Hajasthan 1428 ---_._-1120 1198 193 1031 5 I 30 Sikkim 25 19 25 1 14 0 -~--- T~mil Nadu 1255 _~i1_~ 1080 1132 - 91 1253 49 I 32 Teiangana 1- _-_._-- - 474 333 448 28 417 1 ._ i 33 Tripura 120 96 78 10 96 8 34 Uttar Pradesh 3416 2578 2312 317 2092 425 35 Uttarakhand 294 228 228 66 185 10 I 36 West Bengal 1014 918 836 141 421 71 I I -- TOTAL 23782 18812 19632 2713 17412 1893 _'

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

LOKSABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 657

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 05.02.2020

Judicial Vacancies

657. SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN

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

a) the total number of posts of the judges of High Courts that remain unfilled in India; b) the total number of collegium proposals pending for the approval by the Government: and c) whether the Government has set any time frame for filling the judicial vacancies in High Courts and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRJ RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (c): There are 395 number of posts of the judges vacant in various

High Courts.

The proposals recommended by various High Courts Collegiums for

appointment of High Court Judges are under various stages of processing -_

with the Government arid Supreme Court Collegium as per the procedure

prescribed in Memorandum of Procedure (MoP).

Filling up of vacancies in the High Courts is a collaborative and integrated process, between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities both at the Centre and State. Hence total time taken in the process of appointment cannot be indicated.

*** . (!3)

..- GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ****** LOKSABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 666

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 5thFEBRUARY, 2020 Legal Assistance

t666. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH:

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

(a) the procedure for appointing government counsel by the government to provide legal assistance to the people;

(b) the number of government counsels in the country at present;

(c) whether the posts of government counsels are vacant or more government counsels are required and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government proposes to establish free legal advice centres at every district or Tehsil to provide justice to everybody; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) The National Legal Services Authority (Free and Competent Legal Services)

Regulations, 2010 provides for criteria and procedure for empanelment of

panel lawyers for providing legal assistance to the eligible sections of the

population. The selection of panel lawyers is made by the Executive Chairman

or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution in consultation with the Attorney

General [for the Supreme Court], Advocate General [for the High Court],

District Attorney or Government Pleader [for District and Taluka level] and the

Monitoring and Mentoring Committee of the Institution. (b) A total number of 61,295 lawyers have been empaneled in legal services

institutions at state & district level across the country for providing legal

assistance to the people who are eligible to receive such assistance.

(c) The panel lawyers are empanelled by the Legal Services Institutions as per the

work load. As of now, the required number of panel lawyers are available with the

Legal Services Institutions.

(d)&(e)Legal Services Institutions have been set up under the Legal Services

Authorities Act, 1987 at all levels from Taluk Courts to Supreme Court for

providing free legal services to the persons eligible under Section 12 of the Legal

Services Authorities Act, 1987.The Legal Services Institutions include National

Legal Services Authority, Supreme Court Legal Services Committee in Supreme

Court, 36 State Legal Services Authorities, 36 High Court Legal Services

Committees in all High Courts, 664 District Legal Seryices Authorities and 2254

Taluk Legal Services Committees.

The Legal Services Institutions have set up Front Offices to provide legal advice

to the visitors. More than 23,000 Legal Services Clinics have also been set up in

Jails, courts, Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs), community centres, villages/rural

areas and law colleges/universities. In these centres, free legal services are

provided.

******** )

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

LOKSABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 670 , TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 05th FEBRUARY, 2020.

Pending cases in Bombay High Courts

670. SHRI BALUBHAU ALIAS SURESH NARAYAN DHANORKAR:

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

(a) the number of pending cases at present in the Bombay High Court along with the number of those cases which are pending for the last ten years; (b) the number of cases related to coal miners in the Bombay High Court at present along with the number of those cases which have been pending for more than ten years; and (c) the reaction of the Government thereto?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b): As per information available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as on 29.01.2020, 2.67 lakh cases are pending in Bombay High Court. 79,749 cases are pending in Bombay High Court for more than ten years. The data regarding cases related to coal miners is not available on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).

(c) : Disposal of cases in courts is within the domain of the judiciary. The time taken for disposal of a case depends on several factors such as category of the case (civil or criminal), complexity of the facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake-holders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants besides the availability of physical infrastructure, supporting court staff and applicable rules of procedure. Government has no role in disposal of cases in courts. However, the Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases to improve access to justice. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, established by the Union Government, has adopted many strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure [court halls and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District, High Court and Supreme Court level, emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases. *********** ..

GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRYOF LAW & JUSTICE . DEPARTMENTOF JUSTICE r' LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 686

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE osth FEBRUARY, 2020.

Pending Court Cases

686. SHRI JYOTIRMAY SINGH MAHATO: SHRI T.R.BAALU:

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

(a) whether there is huge backlog of pending cases in courts;

(b) if so, the State-wise details of civil and criminal cases pending in District Cou.rts, High Courts and the Supreme Court across the country including West· Bengal as on date alongwith the stages of most of the pending cases;

(c) whether the Government has taken steps to accelerate the judicial process and expedite adjudication of the cases pertaining to social issues and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether Government is facing major challenges in the Indian judicial system; and

(e) if so, the measures taken by the Government to create a citizen centric legal systems? .

ANSWER

MINISTEROF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONSAND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) and (b): As per data available on the website of Supreme Court, 59,859 cases are pending in the Supreme Court of India as on 02.01.2020. As per data available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as on 29.01.2020, about 3.19 crore cases are pending in the District & Subordinate Courts. The details of cases pending in the District & Subordinate Courts,.State-wise, including in the State of West Bengal, is given in the Annexure-I. As per data available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), 45.81 lakh cases are pending in High Courts. The details of cases pending in various High Courts including Calcutta High Court, is given in the Annexure-II.

--.-- (c) & (d): Disposal of cases in courts is within the domain of judiciary. Challenges faced for timely disposal of cases in courts, inter-alia, include availability of adequate number , of judges, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures. However, the Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases including cases pertaining to social issues. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms has adopted many strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure [court halls and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District, High Court and Supreme Court level, emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases. The major steps taken during the last five years under various initiatives are as follows: (a) Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs. 7,453.10 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in 1993-94. Out of this, Rs.4, 008.80 crores (which is 53.79% of the total amount released till date) have beefl released to the States and UTs since April, 2014. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 19,632 as on 29.01.2020 and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 17,412 as on 29.01.2020 under this scheme. In addition, 2,713 court halls and 1,893 residential units are under construction. (b) Leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for improved justice delivery: Government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project throughout the country for Information and Communication Technology enablement of district and subordinate courts. Number of computerized District & Subordinate courts has increased from 13,672 to 16,845 registering an increase of 3,173 during 2014 till date. New and user-friendly version of Case Information Software has been developed and deployed at all the computerized District and Subordinate Courts. All stakeholders including Judicial Officers can access information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of computerized District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). Currently, case status information in respect of over 12.97 crore pending and .~• disposed cases and more than 11.15 crore orders / judgments pertaining to these computerized courts is available on NJDG. eCourts services such as details of case registration, cause list, case status, daily orders & final judgments are available to litigants and advocates through eCourts web portal, Judicial Service Centres (JSC) in all computerized courts, eCourts Mobile App, email service, SMS push & pull services. Video Conferencing facility has been enabled between 3240 court complexes and 1272 corresponding jails. (c) Filling up of vacant positions in Supreme Court. High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts: From 01.05.2014 to 30.01.2020, 35 Judges were appointed in Supreme Court. 515 new Judges were appointed and 435 Additional Judges were made permanent in the High Courts. Sanctioned strength of Judges of High Courts has been increased from 906 in May, 2014 to 1079 currently. Sanctioned and working strength of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts has increased as follows: As on Sanctioned Strength Working Strength 31.12.2013 19,518 15,115 29.01.2020 23,782 18,812 __j

(d) Reduction in Pendency through I follow up by Arrears Committees: In pursuance of resolution passed in Chief Justices' Conference held in April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years. Arrears Committees have been set up under District Judges too. Arrears Committee has been constituted in the Supreme Court to formulate steps to reduce pendency of cases in High Courts and District Courts. (e) Emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR): Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (as amended on zo" August, 2018) stipulates mandatory pre-institution mediation and settlement of commercial disputes. Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been made by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines. (f) Initiatives to Fast Track Special Type of Cases: The Fourteenth Finance Commission endorsed the proposal of the Government to strengthen the judicial system in States which included, inter-alia, establishing Fast Track Courts for cases of heinous crimes; cases involving senior citizens, women, children etc., and urged the State Governments. to use the additional fiscal space provided in

------I

',-

• -: the form of enhanced tax devolution form 32% to 42% to meet such requirements. As on 30.09.2019,704 Fast Track Courts are functional for heinous crimes, crimes against women and children, family and matrimonial disputes, etc. To fast track criminal cases involving elected MPs / MLAs, ten (10) Special Courts are functional in nine (9) States (1 each in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and 2 in NCT of Delhi) and proportionate funds have been released to these States by the Government. Further, Government has approved a scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country for expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape under IPC and crimes under POCSO Act. As on date, 26 States/UTs have joined the scheme for setting up of 648 FTSCs including 363 exclusive POCSO courts. RS.99.35 crore (out of the total allocation of RS.100 crore) has already been released as the first installment to these 26 States.

(e): Through computerization of 16,845 District & Subordinate Courts and ICT enablement under the eCourts Project Phase-II, several services have been provided to litigants, lawyers and Judiciary which facilitate expeditious delivery of judicial services. eCourts services such as details of case registration, cause list, case status, daily orders & final judgments are available to litigants and advocates through eCourts web portal, Judicial Service Centres (JSC) in all computerized courts, eCourts Mobile App, email service, SMS push & pull services. Integration of eCourts Services through Common Service Centers (CSCs) has been successfully completed. eCourt CNR Service has been enabled through Digital Seva Portal in all CSC locations across the country. National judicial Data Grid (NJDG) for District & Subordinate Courts, created as an online platform under the Project, provides information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of computerized district and subordinate courts of the country. Currently, all stakeholders including Judicial Officers can access case status information in respect of over 12.97 crore pending and disposed cases and more than 11.15 crore orders / judgments pertaining to these computerized courts. Video Conferencing facility has been enabled between 3240 court complexes & 1272 corresponding jails.

***** . ,• Annexure -I

Details of cases pending in the District & Subordinate Courts, State-wise [as on 29.01.2020]

SI.Nor Name of States/UTs Pending Cases Pending Cases Total Number of (Civil) (Criminal) Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts$$ e...-~1n~~~e~~ 31~5;Q__. __-.-----:2::-::5:-:~-:-~-7=-;::c---+------:5=-=6:-:~-:::~-=-~;=-- 3. Telangana _ 24547-'-7.+- 32_0_9_3_0+- 56_6_4__0__7 4.' Arunachal Pradesh ~-'------r------l------5. Assam ------,--::-.=---=--=-=C-t----68310 ,-::-===:_::_::_=:-==--~----_____::__=~-_=_229062 297372 6. Bihar 400260 2475453 2875713 7. I C_bandigarh 18242 30020 48262 I 8. Chhattisgarh 57124 222286 279410 !

~-9. ---Ic------D & N Haveli 1421 1612 3033 10. -Daman & Diu 1156 1154 2310 ------1- 11. Delhi __ 200714 665551 866265 12. Goa 13614 11199 24813 13. Gujarat 428268 1183091 1611359 14. Haryana 314158 554962 86912Q__j 15. Himachal Pradesh 123147 167318 290465j r 16. Jammu & Kashmir 73843 103411 177254 i . Jharkhand r 68734 317330 38606'4--1 . Karnataka 744877 810740 15556I[_J ~_19. _ t--:-Kerala 402141 892769 12944~~.-OC-~1-1:,i t ~~: t:~:~:dweep ---~-~: _ ---~~: ---~-·~--1 1_22. Madhya Pradesh 330157 1119226 144938'31 L 23. __ Maharashtra 1232698 2533702 37664061 I 24. Manipur 6106 3720 982()i 25. Meghalaya 2366 6481 884il ~ 26. Mizoram ---f-. 1161 1383 25~i-4--] l 27. Nagaland ------I 28. Orissa 262517 982315 124~~i:~; I: 29. Punjab _ 276208 363475 639683 : I 30. Rajasthan 435695 1263473 1699'6P b[31.3L. ~~~~Ic~:~~Sikkim 6:_~~~~527 ~~_~~_~~775 1~_~:~~;~130:c:; 4. _ Tripura _ 7559 17550 251Q§U i 35. Uttar Pradesh 1743565 5947401 7690966 i f-- 36. f-Uttarakhand 34760 173251 208011 f-.37. West Bengal 513611 1776853 2290464 L_ Tot~1 _.- ..-----'7- 8970957 22932357 3190331.IJ_ Note: Data on District and Subordinate Courts In the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry are not available on the web-portal OT NJDG. Data in respect of Andaman & Nicobar Islands is not available on NJDG Portal , Annexure_·11

Details of cases pending in various High Courts [as-on 29.01.2020]

,---- 151. No I Na-meof High Courts Pending Pending Writs Number ofl I I Cases Cases Cases I (Civil ) (Criminal) pending in I I I High Courts 1. Allahabad High 90urt ~ f---' 157303 327480 247456 732239 2. Calcutta High Court 21708 198 0 21906 f-~:"----- Gauhati High Qourt __ 18056 9374 20139 -~-- 47569------i 4. ---BHi9h Courtfor the Stateof 84687 ~ i __ T_elangana , 30769 104293 219749 , __J______I--~--_----_-_-- High Court of Andhra rs, 70264 30485 95804 196553 ~ ~adesh 1----- ,- I 6. High Court of Bombay 1678~_Q_ 31266 2678(,:; 1----- 68653 --.------~7._-'____ J-:l19hCourt 9J C_bJ1attisgarh 19924 27192 23117 70233 r--"--"----'------"~------_------..-. 8. High Court of DelhJ_ 33291 21014 25742 80047----- i 9. High Court of Gujarat 42888 40754 46338 1299BC_ ,---,-,_-" .-- 110. High Court of Himachal 32473 5851.W, Pradesh 7910 18163 I -- --- ...._--- I 11. High Court of Jammu & ! Kashmir 39770 8142 27701 7561:~; -----. j 12. High Court of Jharkhand 15724 43220 83(SS:'::5 24755 _-.--.--_- .. ! 13. High Court of Karnataka 138798 34964 74523 24820:',' -- f----'------=- -,_------.. , r-- v.. 14. High Court of Kerala 86827 45217 1987,:_,_ 66695 ------.---- i 15. High Court of Madhya , _119334 136191 3610F;:5 ! Pradesh 105560 i- '!6 ! 5 • ------_tlJgh Court of Manip~r 3462 344 0 3 [H:V;. . -- ..----- i 17. f-~igh Court of Meghalaya 433 1l '!::; ~----~ 96 585 -~------. I 18. High Court of Punjab & , 219488 208805 113227 . 5A,'1S?() I Haryana _._------,--- ! 19. High Court of Rajasthan 215790 122203 134248 4 7.~2;:~:"~.~ 1;------1--' _- --- __ . •••• .r-, •••• ' 120. High Court of Sikkim -: .; i .--_._------78 5~f 100 ,_ I 2'1. High Court of Tripura 883 402 2'~.:_:·:_-·., - 1088 ----- i 22. High Court of Uttarakhand 25370 14689 4~i:)fJ.: f--- " 1 _ ...- i 23. Madras High CoUl~ 257953 45145 '100078 I~()3 : . F:- i 24. Orissa High Court 40633 'i 5~..~~.'i .,! 43962 66816 -_. - [_'25. I Patna High Court 95047 78582 1l3f52.::J 0 ------! L ______Total 1908074 1308463 458'1ij-~f) - 1365082 ----_._-. __ .- -

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