GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE) LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 41 TH TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 24 NOVEMBER, 2014 National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms 41. SHRI D. K. SURESH: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has been implementing the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms in the country; (b) if so, the details and the salient features thereof; and (c) the achievements made under the Mission so far? ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI D. V. SADANANDA GOWDA) (a) to (c): The overall goal of the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms is timely delivery of justice and enhancing accountability through structural changes. The National Mission was set up in August, 2011 and has a time frame of five years. The major initiative under the National Mission relate to Infrastructure Development for Subordinate 1Judiciary and Computerization of Courts. The Central Government has provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 2,198 crores to State Governments and Union Territories for upgradation / construction of court complexes and residential units for judicial officers in the last three years. Under the eCourts Project 13,323 courts have been computerized by st 31 October, 2014. Computerization of courts would enable the courts to exercise greater control over management of cases in the docket. It will also provide designated services to the litigants and the lawyers. In order to reduce government litigation in courts the Central Government has encouraged the States to notify their litigation policies which contain provisions for weeding out infructuous cases and promote dispute resolution through alternative mechanisms. The Government has also identified the areas prone to excessive litigation for adopting suitable policy and legislative measures to curb such litigation. As a result of the concerted efforts made by all stake-holders the increasing trend of pendency of cases in subordinate courts has been checked. ************* GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE) LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 55 TH TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 24 NOVEMBER, 2014 Pending Court Cases 55. SHRIMATI DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH: SHRI MAHEISH GIRRI: SHRI BADRUDDIN AJMAL: SHRI YOGI ADITYA NATH: SHRI BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA: SHRI VENKATESH BABU T.G.: SHRI SHIVKUMAR UDASI: SHRI RAVNEET SINGH: SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (d) whether a large number of cases are pending in various courts across the country; (e) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the number of cases pending and disposed of in Supreme Court, various High Courts and subordinate courts including Fast Track Courts during each of the last three years and the current year, court-wise; (f) the sanctioned strength and vacancies of judges in these courts and the action taken by the Government to fill up these vacancies at the earliest; (g) whether the Government has taken note of delay in the delivery of justice to the litigants for various reasons; and (h) if so, the details thereof along with the remedial steps taken by the Government for expeditious disposal of the pending cases? ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & 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 available, number of cases pending and disposed of in Supreme Court during the last three years and the current year are given below:- Year Cases Pending Cases Disposed of 2011 58,519 73,133 2012 66,692 68,744 2013 66,349 77,085 2014 65,970 45,108 (As on 30.06.2014) Details of cases pending and disposed of in the High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts including Fast Track Courts during the last three years are given in Statements at Annex – I and Annex – II. 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, adjournments, indiscriminate use of writ jurisdiction, lack of adequate arrangement to monitor, track and bunch cases for hearing are some of the main factors responsible for pendency of cases in courts. Details of sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancy position of Judges in Supreme Court, High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts are given in Statements at Annex – III and Annex - IV. 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 High Courts / State Governments. Disposal of pending cases in various courts is within the domain of the Judiciary. In order to create an enabling environment for judiciary, the Government has set up National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms. The major initiative under the National Mission relate to Infrastructure Development for Subordinate Judiciary and Computerization of Courts. The Central Government has provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 2,198 crores to State Governments and Union Territories for upgradation / construction of court complexes and residential units for judicial officers in the last three st years. Under the eCourts Project 13,323 courts have been computerized by 31 October, 2014. Computerization of courts would enable the courts to exercise greater control over management of cases in the docket. It will also provide designated services to the litigants and the lawyers. In order to reduce government litigation in courts the Central Government has encouraged the States to notify their litigation policies which contain provisions for weeding out infructuous cases and promote dispute resolution through alternative mechanisms. The Government is also looking into the areas prone to excessive litigation for adopting suitable policy and legislative measures to curb such litigation. ********* Annex-I Statement referred to in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 55 regarding “Pending th Court Cases” for reply on 24 November, 2014 Disposal and Pendency in High Courts during the year 2011, 2012 and 2013 Name of High 2011 2012 2013 Sr. Court No. Disposal Pendency Disposal Pendency Disposal Pendency 1 Allahabad 235869 1005527 247539 1008679 236821 1043398 Andhra 67722 2 Pradesh 198214 66130 210101 58278 232459 3 Bombay 135510 362885 174020 341969 140761 349837 4 Calcutta 347154 78428 362131 134938 280006 69486 5 Delhi 61210 35656 62352 35371 64652 43239 6 Gujarat 66563 82232 63778 76009 64450 91953 7 Gauhati 34161 53255 35713 52873 30308 40912 Himachal 36512 8 Pradesh 49541 37772 55597 36455 60073 Jammu 19196 9 &Kashmir 82223 16380 82306 24916 93038 Karnataka 10 141544 172088 121624 183852 128134 196972 11 Kerala 73273 128777 78801 124061 68871 132159 12 Madras 473736 246200 500374 231817 557479 240767 104307 Madhya 13 Pradesh 229336 100281 248157 111348 261611 14 Orissa 301314 81388 332910 70262 206822 94435 Patna 15 93446 118964 91328 119191 82343 132155 101978 Punjab & 16 243666 108266 251120 109623 262760 Haryana 17 Rajasthan 166124 281306 131277 292551 127928 307640 18 Sikkim 119 67 126 63 140 120 19 Uttarakhand 11344 19263 13616 20187 15661 20686 20 Chhattisgarh 50163 27817 47751 28206 44139 23215 21 Jharkhand 61277 30030 61957 25970 72958 25472 22 Tripura - - - - 4379 5834 23 Manipur - - - - 2677 3853 24 Meghalaya - - - - 1418 1189 Total 1784282 4322198 1786170 4434191 1771075 4462705 **************** Annex-II Statement referred to in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 55 regarding “Pending th Court Cases” for reply on 24 November 2014 Pendency of Cases in District and Subordinate Courts in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 S.No. Name of State 2011 2012 2013 / UT Disposal Pendency Disposal Pendency Disposal Pendency 1. Andhra 604396 945737 606447 924943 514867 983882 Pradesh 2. Arunachal 7854 6305 7355 6200 7444 6076 Pradesh 3. Assam 210480 259596 239706 253428 314672 248472 4. Bihar 287634 1607306 304786 1711380 315361 1807782 5. Chhattisgarh 156909 271406 162104 272523 179065 269116 6. Goa 23438 30057 33886 30131 30717 31703 7. Gujarat 1035541 2183026 1072123 2174691 1137159 2226371 8. Haryana 576094 588812 733591 564285 608315 555669 9. Himachal 212662 189549 246052 224563 293575 258791 Pradesh 10. Jammu & 275193 206308 291100 191144 307192 175647 Kashmir 11. Jharkhand 114743 292215 123777 299265 116748 307853 12. Karnataka 955321 1128996 1035706 1138703 1017437 1190335 13. Kerala 992374 1060056 1112342 1240164 1171821 1354379 14. Madhya 1186416 1089195 1217733 1091221 1273437 1097658 Pradesh 15. Maharashtra 2624928 3275954 2048255 2977306 1710180 2884398 16. Manipur 13530 9844 14572 14381 16189 12907 17. Meghalaya 1970 3181 2982 4103 3284 4441 18. Mizoram 9044 4412 11747 3569 10270 3100 19. Nagaland 2979 4405 3179 3586 3062 3318 20. Orissa 318634 1153517 300337 1185763 378159 1134448 21. Punjab 678677 553202 758927 537064 611671 523759 22. Rajasthan 1244592 1451368 1150808 1446129 1199745 1451881 23. Sikkim 1862 1194 1913 1077 2146 845 24. Tamil Nadu 1656290 1183249 1499884 1232469 1844056 1288315 25. Tripura 135571 48251 148688 55895 158838 69715 26. Uttar Pradesh 2599715 5798048 2798690 5792331 2966521 5604985 27.