GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE RAJYA …

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIAMINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE

RAJYA SABHAQUESTION NO 157

ANSWERED ON 07.03.2011

PENDING COURT CASES

157 SHRI NARESH GUJRAL

Will the Minister of LAW & JUSTICE be pleased to satate :

(a) the number of cases pending with the High courts and the Supreme Court during the last threecalendar years, Statewise; and

(b) the steps being taken to expedite these cases?` .ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE

(DR. M. VEERAPPA MOILY)

(a) and (b): A Statement is laid on. the Table of the House. Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of the Raiva Sabha Starred Question No. 157 for7.3.2011 regarding `Pending court cases`

(a): A statement is enclosed at Annexure.

(b): In order to facilitate expeditious disposal of cases in Courts, Government has taken a numberof measures as mentioned below:

(i) The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission toprovide a grant of? 5000 crore to the States for improving the justice delivery system in the countryover a five year period 201015. A grant of? 1000 crore has already been released to the Statesduring the year 201011. With the help of these grants, the States can, interalia, set up morning /evening / shift / special magistrates` courts, appoint court managers, establish ADR centres andprovide training to mediators / conciliators, organise more Lok Adalats to reduce pendencies. Thegrants also provide for training of judicial officers, strengthening of State Judicial Academies,training of public prosecutors and maintainance of heritage court buildings.

(ii) In order to modernise the judicial infrastructure, Government is implementing a Central SectorScheme (ECourts Project) for computerization of the District and Subordinate Courts in thecountry and upgradation of`ICT infrastructure in superior courts at an estimated cost of? 935 crore.

(iii) The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been notified and brought into force w.e.f. 02 October,2009 to provide for speedy justice to common man at grassroots level. Government providesfinancial assistance to the States for setting up and operation of Gram Nyayalayas. 144 Gram

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Nyayalayas have been notified out of which 47 are operational.

(iv) The Government has decided, in principle, to set up a `National Mission for Justice Deliveryand Legal Reforms` with the objective of reducing pendency of cases in courts.

(v) Fast Track Courts were setup to expedite disposal of long pending sessions cases and the casesof undertrial prisoners. As per the information received, 32.06 lakh cases have been disposed of bythese courts since inception.

(vi) To augment the resources of the State Governments for provision of infrastructure facilities forthe judiciary, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme is being implemented since 199394 under whichcentral assistance is provided to the States/UTs for construction of court buildings and residentialaccommodation for Judges/Judicial Officers. The outlay for this Scheme for the Eleventh PlanPeriod (200712) is ? 701.08 crore against which an amount of? 411.97 crore has been released tothe State Governments during last three financial years.

Annexure

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE RAJYA SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. 157 7.3.2011

Number of cases pending in the Supreme Court and the High Courts

Sl.

No.

Name of the

Courts

As on

31.12.08

As on

31.12.09

As on

31.12.10

Supreme Court 49819 55791 54562

Sl.

No.

Name of the High

Courts

As on

31.12.08

As on

31.12.09

As on

31.06.10

1 Allahabad 911858 950864 969932

2 Andhra Pradesh 169214 187050 194000

3 Bombay 336080 338183 344477

4 Calcutta 300473 319846 329580

5 Chhattisgarh 66729 60418 57165

6 Delhi 70003 61277 61807

7 Gujarat 104814 99930 95350

8 Gauhati 62110 59336 60116

9 Himachal Pradesh 34638 51643 49582

10 Jammu and Kashmir 48827 55588 63520

11 Jharkhand 53364 55206 56295

12 Karnataka 109993 172302 197701

13 Kerala 110532 113426 117282

14 Madras 451496 431390 448178

15 Madhya Pradesh 183024 196921 209383

16 Orissa 240909 259918 267162

17 Patna 119863 128907 127745

18 Punjab & Haryana 252324 243782 242829

19 Rajasthan 229934 259187 272936

20 Sikkim 83 85 79

21 Uttarakhand 17822 31578 18612

Total 3874090 4076837 4183731

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REVAMPING JUDICIAL SYSTEM .

160 Shri K.N. Balagopal


(a) whether Government is taking any steps to revamp the judicial system in the country; and

(b) whether Government proposes any new and transparent methods for the recruitment of judgesand if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (DR. M. VEERAPPA MOILY)

(a) and (b): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) AND (b) OF RAJYA SABHASTARRED QUESTION NO. 160

(a): The Government is taking various initiatives to improve justice delivery system in the country.These are as under:

(l)The Government has `in principle` approved setting up of National Mission for Justice Deliveryand Legal Reforms. The National Mission would help implementing the two major goals of

(i) increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system

(ii) enhancing accountability at all levels through structural changes and setting performancestandards and facilitating enhancement of capacities for achieving such performance standards.

(2)With the objective of improving justice delivery. Thirteenth Finance Commission hasrecommended a grant of Rs. 5000 crore to be utilized over a period of five years up to 20102015.This grant is aimed at providing support to improve judicial outcomes, and is allocated for theinitiatives such as (i) Increasing the number of court working hours using the existing infrastructure by holdingmorning / evening / shift courts; (ii) Enhancing support to Lok Adalats to reduce the pressure on regular courts; (iii) Providing additional funds to State Legal Services Authorities to enable them to enhance legalaid to the marginalized and empower them to access justice; (iv) Promoting the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to resolve part of the disputes

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outside the court system; (v) Enhancing capacity of judicial officers and public prosecutors through training programmes; (vi) Supporting creation or strengthening of a judicial academy in each State to facilitate suchtraining; (vii) Creation of the post of Court Managers in every judicial district to assist the judiciary in theiradministrative functions and (viii) Maintenance of heritage court buildings.

(3)The Government is implementing a central sector scheme for computerization of the District andSubordinate Courts (eCourts project) in the country and for upgradation of the ICT infrastructureof the Supreme Court and the High Courts, at a cost of Rs. 935 crore for the first phase which willconnect 14,229 courts in the country including video conferencing facilities. In the subsequentphase, digitization, library management, efiling and establishment of data warehouse are expectedto take place. The Project output would be beneficial to both improving court process and renderingcitizen centric services. Automation of case flow would cover case scrutiny, registration, courtproceedings and electronic monitoring of all courtwise case pendency and performance assessmentof Judges. In terms of citizen centric services, online availability of case status, copies of orders andjudgments, cause list and eventually efiling of cases will be available. This project will alsoachieve one of the important goals of the Vision Document 2009, namely, the creation of NationalArrears Grid, with the last mile connectivity up to Taluqa courts. The complete coverage of the14,249 courts in terms of hardware and software will be achieved by March 2014 and the largestnumber of courts (12,000) will be covered by March 2012. Reengineering of the process in thecourts is the ultimate aim for speeding justice delivery and this activity is also to start this year.

(4)Enactment of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 which provides for establishment of GramNyayalayas to improve access to justice to common man. Under the scheme, the Governmentprovides non recurring grant for creation of infrastructure and also recurring grant on annual basis.Rs. 20.92 crore have been provided to the States so far under this scheme.

(5)A Centrally Sponsored Scheme for development of infrastructure facilities for the judiciary isbeing implemented since 199394 under which centra) assistance for construction of courtbuildings and residential quarters for judicial officers is released to augment the resources of theState Governments. The central grant is released with a rider that the State Governments wouldcontribute at least the matching share. An amount of Rs. 412 crore has been released to the StateGovernments during the last three years. Central Grant for construction of High Court buildings isconsidered by the Planning Commission on 30:70 basis under Additional Central Assistancescheme.

(6)The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on1st December, 2010, seeks to repeal the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, while retaining its basicfeatures and aims to achieve the objectives of creating a statutory mechanism for enquiring intoindividual complaints against Judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court and recommendingappropriate action, enabling declaration of assets and liabilities of Judges and laying down thejudicial standards to be followed by the judges. All these measures will increase accountability ofJudges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court thereby further strengthening the independenceof the judiciary. The Bill has been referred to the Department Related Parliamentary StandingCommittee.

(7)A Bill namely, The Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 has beenintroduced in the Lok Sabha on 25th August, 2010 to increase the retirement age of Judges of the

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High Courts from 62 years to 65 years.

(b): The existing procedure for appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts isbased on the Supreme Court Judgment dated October 6, 1993 in the case of Supreme CourtAdvocates on Record & Anr. Vs. Union of India, and the Advisory Opinion of the Supreme Courtdated October 28, 1998. The procedure has been debated in various fora and there have beendemands to change the same. However, there is, at present, no specific proposal to bring about anychange in the present system of appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

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CURB ON FRIVOLOUS PILS

1170 SHRI SHIVANAND TIWARI


(a) whether it is a fact that a few organizations file PIL to get popularity while in reality they arenot of much importance in many cases; and

(b) whether Government proposes to make any law to check the unwanted PILs by people so thatthe precious time of courts could be saved?

ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE


(a) The matter.of entertaining or curbing PILs is within the domain of the Courts in which they arefiled. The Hon`ble Supreme Court of India has, from time to time, provided certain guidelines intheir various orders to check the misuse of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by unscrupulouselements.

(b) : Does not arise.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1173

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, the 7.3.2011

Disposal of pending court cases

1173. SHRIMATI BIMLA KASHYAP SOOD:

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

(a) the number of posts of judges vacant in the Supreme

Court as well as different High Courts in the country

as on 31 December, 2010;

(b) the number of cases filed in the courts as on the

above date and whether there are enough judges to

dispose of the pending cases;

(c) if not, whether Government would consider to

increase the number of judges;

(d) whether Government has taken any other steps apart

from these to expedite the disposal of cases; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER



(a) : A statement showing the vacancies of Judges in

the Supreme Court and various High Courts as on 31

December, 2010 is annexed in Annexure. I.

(b) & (c) : A statement showing the pendency of court cases in

the Supreme Court and various High Courts are annexed in

Annexure. II. The Judge strength of the High Courts is reviewed

after every three years taking into account institution and disposal

of court cases. The triennial reviews were conducted in 1999,

2003 and 2006. The Judge strength of some the High Courts were

also increased during the period upto 2009.

(d) & (e): In order to facilitate expeditious disposal of cases in Courts,

Government has taken a number of measures as mentioned below:

1. The Government has ‘in principle’ approved setting up of National

Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms. The National Mission would

help implementing the two major goals of

(i) increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system

(ii) enhancing accountability at all levels through structural changes and

setting performance standards and facilitating enhancement of

capacities for achieving such performance standards.

2. With the objective of improving justice delivery, Thirteenth Finance

Commission has recommended a grant of Rs. 5000 crore to be utilized over

a period of five years up to 2010-2015. This grant is aimed at providing

support to improve judicial outcomes, and is allocated for the initiatives such

as (i) Increasing the number of court working hours using the existing

infrastructure by holding morning / evening / shift courts; (ii) Enhancing

support to Lok Adalats to reduce the pressure on regular courts; (iii)

Providing additional funds to State Legal Services Authorities to enable them

to enhance legal aid to the marginalized and empower them to access

justice; (iv) Promoting the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to

resolve part of the disputes outside the court system; (v) Enhancing capacity

of judicial officers and public prosecutors through training programmes; (vi)

Supporting creation or strengthening of a judicial academy in each State to

facilitate such training; (vii) Creation of the post of Court Managers in every

judicial district to assist the judiciary in their administrative functions and (viii)

Maintenance of heritage court buildings.

3. The Government is implementing a central sector scheme for

computerization of the District and Subordinate Courts (e-Courts project) in

the country and for upgradation of the ICT infrastructure of the Supreme

Court and the High Courts, at a cost of Rs. 935 crore for the first phase

which will connect 14,229 courts in the country including video conferencing

facilities. In the subsequent phase, digitization, library management, e-filing

and establishment of data warehouse are expected to take place. The

Project output would be beneficial to both improving court process and

rendering citizen centric services. Automation of case flow would cover case

scrutiny, registration, court proceedings and electronic monitoring of all

court-wise case pendency and performance assessment of Judges. In

terms of citizen centric services, online availability of case status, copies of

orders and judgments, cause list and eventually e-filing of cases will be

available. This project will also achieve one of the important goals of the

Vision Document 2009, namely, the creation of National Arrears Grid, with

the last mile connectivity up to Taluqa courts. The complete coverage of the

14,249 courts in terms of hardware and software will be achieved by March

2014 and the largest number of courts (12,000) will be covered by March

2012. Re-engineering of the process in the courts is the ultimate aim for

speeding justice delivery and this activity is also to start this year.

4. Enactment of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 which provides for

establishment of Gram Nyayalayas to improve access to justice to common

man. Under the scheme, the Government provides non recurring grant for

creation of infrastructure and also recurring grant on annual basis. Rs. 20.92

crore have been provided to the States so far under this scheme.

5. A Centrally Sponsored Scheme for development of infrastructure

facilities for the judiciary is being implemented since 1993-94 under which

central assistance for construction of court buildings and residential quarters

for judicial officers is released to augment the resources of the State

Governments. The central grant is released with a rider that the State

Governments would contribute at least the matching share. An amount of

Rs. 412 crore has been released to the State Governments during the last

three years. Central Grant for construction of High Court buildings is

considered by the Planning Commission on 30:70 basis under Additional

Central Assistance scheme.

6. The age of retirement of Judges of the High Courts is proposed to be

increased from 62 to 65 years, for which a constitution amendment Bill has

been introduced in Parliament. This aims at retaining the Judges for three

more years and avoiding consequent vacancies to address the issue of large

pending cases in the High Courts.

*****

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CONVERSION OF SUBORDINATE COURTS INTO FAST TRACK COURTS .

1174 Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy


(a) whether the Central Government has recently decided to convert all the subordinate courts inthe country into the fast track courts within the next few months;

(b) if so, the details thereof, including the cost likely to be incurred for this purpose;

(c) whether the infrastructure facilities in various subordinate courts would be upgraded to the levelof fast track courts;

(d) if so, the details thereof; and

(e) by when these proposals are likely to be implemented?ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE


(a) No, Sir.

(b) Does not arise.

(c)to(e) Provision of infrastructure facilities in subordinate courts is within the purview of therespective State Governmems.In order to augment the resources of the State Governments,Government of India is implementing a scheme since 199394 for providing financial assistance toState Governments for development of infrastructure facilities for the judiciary. An amount ofRs 4ncrore has been released to the State Governraents during the last three years.

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RIGHT TO JUSTICE .

1178 Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar


(a) whether it is a fact that Government proposes to enact a legislation for Right to Justice to reducethe pendency of litigations;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) by when this is likely to be implemented?ANSWER



(a) : No, Sir.

(b) and (c) : Do not arise.

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ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF NEW LEGISLATIONS ON JUDICIARY .

1179 SHRI PARSHOTTAM KHODABHAI RUPALA


(a) whether the Ministry is considering to conduct detailed studies to evaluate probable impact onour judicial system before making or implementing any law, as without a detailed study in thisregard, it is creating huge burden on our judicial system and it may also be a reason for slowjudicial proceeding and rising corruptions in our judicial system; and

(b) if so, the details thereof?ANSWER



(a) and (b): The Government had setup a Task Force for examining the feasibility of JudicialImpact Assessment in India as follow up action on the directions of the Hon`ble Supreme Court inthe case of Salem Advocates Bar Association Vs. Union of India. The Task Force had presented itsReport on 16.06.2008. The Report of the Task Force on Judicial Impact Assessment was forwardedto ail State Governments / High Courts for their views. Only few States / High Courts have senttheir comments so far.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1180

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.03.2011

Setting up of High Courts

1180. DR. JANARDHAN WAGHMARE:


(a) whether Government is aware of the fact that some of the States have no High

Courts;

(b) whether Government proposes to establish High Courts in such States; and

(c) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER


(Dr. M. VEERAPPA MOILY)

(a) Yes, Sir.

(b) & (c) The State Governments have to provide necessary infrastructure for establishment

of a High Court or its bench(s). The Government are processing the request for establishment

of separate High Courts for the States of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, who have

provided necessary infrastructure.

***

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IMPLEMENTATION OF GRAM NYAYALAYA ACT

1181 DR. JANARDHAN WAGHMARE


(a) whether Government is aware that the Gram Nyayalaya Act was welcomed enthusiastically bythe rural people;

(b) whether Government is also aware that States are not very keen on its implementation; and

(c) if so, what steps have been taken, so far, to implement this Act effectively?ANSWER



(a) to (c): The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide for the establishment ofGram Nyayalayas at the grassroot level for the purpose of providing access to justice to thecitizens at their door steps and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to anycitizen. The Act has come into force on 2nd October, 2009 and enables the State Governments toestablish Gram Nyayalayas. Around 5067 Gram Nyayalayas are expected to be established acrossthe country once the Act is fully implemented. As informed by the State Governments, 144 GramNyayalayas have been notified so far. Out of which 47 Gram Nyayalayas have started functioning. As per Section 3(1) of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, it is for the State Governments, afterconsultation with their respective High Court, to establish Gram Nyayalayas in the State. TheCentral Government has requested the State Governments from time to time to set up more GramNyayalayas in consultation with their respective High Courts. To facilitate the States to set up Gram Nyayalayas, the Government provides assistance to theStates towards (i) establishing the Gram Nyayalayas @ ? 18.00 lakhs per Gram Nyayalaya and (ii) meeting recurring costs Involved in operating these Gram Nyayalayas @ ? 3.20 lakhs perannum per Gram Nyayalaya for the first three years.

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STATUS OF FAST TRACK COURTS .

1183 Shri Satyavrat Chaturvedi


(a) whether it is a fact that fast track courts were set up to provide speedy justice to people of thecountry;

(b) whether 1734 fast track courts are functioning in the country at present;

(c) the number of such fast track courts out of these whose tenure is ending on 31 March, 2011;

(d) Government`s policy to extend their tenure and the reasons therefor;

(e) whether it is also a fact that Government has allocated fund for only 1562 fast track courts; and

(f) If so, the details thereof?ANSWER



(a) The Fast Track Courts were established for expeditious disposal of long pending Sessions casesand the cases involving undertrial prisoners. Fasl Track courts are setup by the State Governmentsin consultation with the respective High Courts.

(b) As per the reports received, 1281 Fast Track Courts are functioning in the country.

(c)&(d) Tenure of Fast Track Courts is decided by the State Governments in consultation with theHigh Courts.

(e)&(f) The Eleventh Finance Commission recommended a scheme for creation of 1734 Fast TrackCourts (FTCs) in the country for disposal of long pending Sessions and other cases. A provision ofRs. 502.90 crores was made as `special problem and upgradation grant` for judicial administrationfor a period of 5 years upto 31.03.2005 out of which a grant of Rs. 426.13 crore was released to theStates. The Government accorded its approval for the continuation of 1562 Fast Track Courts thatwere operational as on 31.3.2005 for a further period of 5 years i.e. up to 31 March, 2010 with aprovision of Rs. 509 crores out of which a grant of Rs. 370.82 crore was released to the .States upto3132010. This scheme has been extended for a further period of one year i.e. upto 31.03.2011 and

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a grant of Rs. 68.15 crore has been released so far during the year 201011.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA



RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1184


Enhancing strength of judges

1184. SHRI RAASHID ALVI:


(a) whether Government is considering to enhance the strength of the judges in

different High Courts and the Supreme Court; and

(b) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER



(a) & (b): The Judge strength of the High Courts is reviewed after every three years. The

triennial reviews were conducted in 1999, 2003 and 2006. The Judge strength of some of

the High Courts were also increased during the period upto 2009. There is at present no

proposal to enhance the Judge strength of the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

***

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ASSISTANCE TO PUNJAB FOR GRAM NYAYALAYAS

1931 Sardar Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa


(a) whether the State Government of Punjab has sought central assistance to meet recurring/nonrecurring expenditure for two Gram Nyayalayas;

(b) if so, the details in this regard; and

(c) by when the required assistance is likely to be released?ANSWER



(a) to (c): Yes, Sir. The Government of Punjab has requested for release of a grant of ` 25.20 lakhsfor meeting nonrecurring expenditure and ` 6.40 lakhs for meeting recurring expenditure on twoGram Nyayalayas. As per the guidelines for release of Central assistance to States for the GramNyayalayas, Central assistance towards nonrecurring expenditure is to be released after the StateGovernment provides a copy of the notification establishing the Gram Nyayalayas. Centralassistance towards recurring expenditure is to be released after the State Government informs thatthe Gram Nyayalayas established have commenced operation indicating the date from which suchoperation has commenced. Central assistance to the State Government may be considered as soonas the State Government provides the requisite information as per the guidelines.

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APPOINTMENT OF COURT MANAGERS

1933 SHRI NANDI YELLAIAH


(a) whether Government is contemplating to appoint the Court Managers in order to help judges incompleting cases’ related primary formalities with a view to ensure early settlement of cases;

(b) if so, the details in this regard; and

(c) how and to what extent appointment of Court Managers would benefit the common man andreduce the heavy backlog of pending cases in various courts?

ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE


(a) to (c): On the recommendation of the Thirteenth Finance Commission, an amount of ` 300 crorehas been allocated for employment of professionally qualified Court managers with a view toenhancing the efficiency of court management, and resultant improvement in case disposal. Theprofessionally qualified Court Managers, with a MBA Degree/Diploma, will support the judges toperform their administrative duties thereby enabling the judges to devote more time to their judicialfunctions. The post of a Court Manager would be created in each judicial district to assist thePrincipal District and Session judges. Two posts of Court Manager may be created for each HighCourt, and one for each Bench of the High Court. Court Manager’s functions and responsibilitiesare as under:

(1) Policies and Standards Based on applicable directives of superior courts, establish theperformance standards applicable to the court and carryout an evaluation of the compliance of thecourt with such standards; identify deficiencies and deviations’, identify steps required to achievecompliance, maintain such an evaluation on a current basis through annual updates.

(2)Planning Prepare and update annually a 5year Court Development Plan (CDP) and monitorthe implementation of the CDP and report to superior authorities on progress in consultation withall the stakeholders.

(3) Information and Statistics Ensure that statistics on all aspects of the functioning of the Courtare complied and reported accurately and promptly in accordance with systems established by theHigh Court.

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(4)Court Management and case Management Ensure that the process and procedures of the courtincluding for filing, scheduling, conduct of adjudication, access to information and documents andgrievance redressal are fully compliant with the policies and standards established by the HighCourt for court and case management and that they safeguard quality, ensure efficiency andtimelines, and minimize costs to litigants and to the State; and enhance access to justice.

(5)Responsiveness Management: Access to Justice; Legal Aid and User Friendliness Ensure thatthe court meets standards established by the High Court on access to justice, legal aid and userfriendliness.

(6)Core Systems Management Ensure that the core system of the court such as documentationmanagement; utilities management; infrastructure and facilities management; financial systemmanagement (audits, accounts, payments are established and function effectively.

(7) IT System Management Ensure that the IT systems of the court comply with standardsestablished by the High Court and are fully functional.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE

(DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)

R A J Y A S A B H A


TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 14TH

MARCH, 2011

Fast Track Courts

1934. SHRIMATI T. RATNA BAI:


(a) what steps have been taken to increase the setting up of Fast Track Courts;

(b) the details of the Fast Track Courts that have been set up during the last two

years, State-wise; and

(c) the details of the cases pending before the Fast Track Courts, State-wise?

A N S W E R



(a) The Eleventh Finance Commission recommended a scheme for creation of

1734 Fast Track Courts (FTCs) in the country for disposal of long pending

Sessions and other cases. A provision of Rs. 502.90 crores was made as “special

problem and upgradation grant” for judicial administration for a period of 5 years

upto 31.03.2005 out of which a grant of Rs. 426.13 crore was released to the

States. The Government accorded its approval for the continuation of 1562 Fast

Track Courts that were operational as on 31.3.2005 for a further period of 5 years

i.e. up to 31st March, 2010 with a provision of Rs. 509 crores out of which a grant

of Rs. 370.82 crore was released to the States upto 31-3-2010. This scheme has

been extended for a further period of one year i.e. upto 31.03.2011 and a grant of

Rs. 68.15 crore has been released so far during the year 2010-11.

(b) Fast Track Courts are set up by the State Governments in consultation with

the respective High Courts. Based on the reports received, a statement indicating

the State-wise number of Fast Track Courts functional during December 2009 and

December 2010 is enclosed as Annexure-I.

(c) A statement indicating the number of cases pending before the Fast Track

Courts, State-wise is enclosed as Annexure-II.

ANNEXURE-I

STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF THE RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1934 FOR 14/3/2011 REGARDING FAST

TRACK COURTS

Sl.

No. Name of the States

Number of

Fast Track

Courts

functional

during

December

2009

Number of Fast

Track Courts

functional

during

December 2010

1 2 3 4

1 ANDHRA PRADESH 108 108

2 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 3 3

3 ASSAM 20 20

4 BIHAR 179 179

5 CHHATTISGARH 28 25

6 GUJARAT 65 61

7 GOA 4 5

8 HARYANA 16 6

9 HIMACHAL PRADESH 9 9

10 JHARKHAND 41 39

11 KARNATAKA 92 87(Aug.10)

12 KERELA 38 38

13 MADHYA PRADESH 77 84(Sept.10)

14 MAHARASHTRA 111 67

15 MANIPUR 2 2

16 MEGHALAYA 3 3

17 MIZORAM 3 3

18 NAGALAND 2 2

19 ORISSA 35 35

20 PUNJAB 17 15

21 RAJASTHAN 83 83(June.10)

22 TAMIL NADU 49 49

23 TRIPURA 3 3

24 UTTARAKHAND 12 19

25 UTTAR PRADESH 229 229(Aug.10)

26 WEST BENGAL 129 110 (Sept.10)

TOTAL 1358 1284

ANNEXURE-II

STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF THE RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1934 FOR 14/3/2011 REGARDING FAST

TRACK COURTS

Sl.

No. Name of the States

Number of cases

pending in the Fast

Track Courts As on

1 2 3 4

1 ANDHRA PRADESH 35550 Dec.10

2 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 2486 Dec.10

3 ASSAM 15766 Dec.10

4 BIHAR 79088 Dec.10

5 CHHATTISGARH 16289 Dec.10

6 GUJARAT 107222 Dec.10

7 GOA 1125 Dec.10

8 HARYANA 4769 Dec.10

9 HIMACHAL PRADESH 6368 Dec.10

10 JHARKHAND 21575 Dec.10

11 KARNATAKA 34335 Aug.10

12 KERELA 14359 Dec.10

13 MADHYA PRADESH 49642 Sep.10

14 MAHARASHTRA 61014 Dec.10

15 MANIPUR 219 Dec.10

16 MEGHALAYA 202 Dec.10

17 MIZORAM 278 Dec.10

18 NAGALAND 150 Dec.10

19 ORISSA 5684 Dec.10

20 PUNJAB 12223 Dec.10

21 RAJASTHAN 27619 June, 10

22 TAMIL NADU 40621 Dec. 08

23 TRIPURA 245 Dec.10

24 UTTARAKHAND 8718 Dec.10

25 UTTAR PRADESH 73179 Aug.10

26 WEST BENGAL 31722 Sept.10

TOTAL 650417

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA



RAJYA SABHA



High Court Bench at Thiruvananthapuram

1936. PROF. P.J. KURIEN:


(a) whether any proposal for setting up a Thiruvananthapuram Bench of the

High Court of Kerala is under consideration of Government;


(c) the action taken or contemplated by Government and the expected

time of setting up the Bench?

ANSWER



(a) : No, Sir.

(b) & (c) : Does not arise.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA



RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. +1937


Disproportionate assets of former judges

+1937. : SHRI RASHEED MASOOD


(a) whether Government has received any complaints against some former judges and

their relatives regarding disproportionate assets;


(c) the details of the action taken in this regard?

ANSWER



(a) to (c) Recently complaints from public have been received against former Chief Justice of

India Shri Justice K.G. Balakrishnan about disproportionate assets of his relatives.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA



RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. +1938


Harassment of Madras High Court Judge

+1938. : SHRI RASHEED MASOOD


(a) whether the Ministry has received a letter from the Chief Justice of India, in

which it was stated that a Union Minister was harassing a Madras High

Court Judge;

(b) the date on which the said letter was received; and

(c) the name of the accused Minister, the action taken against him?

ANSWER



(a) to (c) The Supreme Court Registry has informed that the matter with which the

correspondence is concerned is subjudice in Civil Appeal Nos. 1223-1224 of 2011 entitled

“R.K. Chandramohan Vs. Elephant G. Rajendran and Others” before the Supreme Court of

India on judicial side.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA



RAJYA SABHA



Action on 230th

Report of Law Commission

+1939. : SHRIMATI MAYA SINGH


(a) the details of action taken according to the 230th

report prepared by the Law

Commission in August, 2009;

(b) whether action has been taken against anybody in the judiciary for favouring

relatives;

(c) whether any obstacles are being faced in complying with the above report of

the Commission in order to bring transparency; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER



(a) to (d) : The 230th

Report of the Law Commission considered the aspects of the selection

and appointment of High Court Judges, increase in the number of judges, creation of new

benches, age of retirement of judges, number of working days and vacation, work culture,

speedy justice, justice at easy reach, integrity, virtue and ethics, governance, anti-corruption,

access to justice, alternative dispute resolution and its advantages, pendency, use of

technology and computerization of lower courts, reforms at village level etc.

The Report was forwarded to the Chief Justices of all High Courts to consider the

recommendations for adoption.

***

8/5/2015





VACANCIES OF JUDGES

1942 Shri T.K. Rangarajan


(a) whether it is a fact that number of vacancies remain unfilled in the High Courts and subordinate Courts across thecountry;

(b) if so, the details of the sanctioned strength of judges in High Courts, as well as subordinate courts;

(c) the reasons for the delay in filling up the vacancies; and

(d) the steps taken to clear the backlog?ANSWER



(a) & (b) : A statement showing the sanctioned strength and the vacancies of Judges in the various High Courts andsubordinate courts are annexed in Annexure. I and II.

(c) & (d) : Pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgment of October 6, 1993 read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28,1998, the entire process of initiation of proposal for appointment of a Judge of a High Court rests with the Chief Justiceof the concerned High Court. The main reason for the large number of vacant posts is that the Government has notreceived sufficient proposals to fill up these vacant posts. The Government is periodically reminding the Chief Justicesof the High Courts to initiate proposals in time for filling up the existing vacancies as well as the vacancies anticipatedin next six months in the High Courts. Under Article 235 of the Constitution of India, the administrative control over themembers of subordinate judiciary in the States vests with the concerned High Court and State Government. Thus, asregards the judge strength in the District and subordinate courts and filling them up is concerned, the responsibility vestswith the respective State Governments and the High Courts.

Annexure.IAnnexure referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No.1942 for answer on 14.03.2011

Sl.No.Name of the High Court Sanctioned strength Vacancy of judges as on 01.03.2011 as on 01.03.20111 Allahabad 160 952 Andhra Pradesh 49 133 Bombay 75 204 Calcutta 58 165 Chhattisgarh 18 66 Delhi 48 87 Gauhati 24 58 Gujarat 42 139 Himachal Pradesh 11 ‐

8/5/2015


10 Jammu & Kashmir 14 411 Jharkhand 20 812 Karnataka 50 1013 Kerala 38 814 Madhya Pradesh 43 915 Madras 60 1116 Orissa 22 517 Patna 43 1318 Punjab & Haryana 68 2619 Rajasthan 40 1820 Sikkim 3 121 Uttarakhand 9 2 Total 895 291

Annexure.II

Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No.1942 for answer on 14.03.2011

Sl.No. State/ Sanctioned Vacancies Union/Territory Strength of District & as on 30.06.2010 Subordinate Courts as on 30.06.2010

1 Uttar Pradesh 2186 2722 Andhra Pradesh 930 1483 Maharashtra 2087 2804 Goa 49 75 Diu Daman & Dadra and Nagar Haveli 4 06 West Bengal and A&N Islands 933 1547 Chhattisgarh 293 378 Delhi 605 1709 Gujarat 1095 33310 Assam 326 2011 Meghalaya 10 212 Tripura 92 2713 Manipur 33 214 Nagaland 28 515 Mizoram 40 916 Arunachal Pradesh 2 017 Himachal Pradesh 126 518 Jammu and Kashmir 207 4319 Jharkhand 581 18720 Karnataka 936 13121 Kerala 436 1722 Lakshadweep 3 023 Tamil Nadu 828 4224 Puducherry 20 625 Madhya Pradesh 1288 17626 Orissa 544 5827 Bihar 1385 34228 Punjab 410 11629 Haryana 409 12430 Chandigarh 20 031 Rajasthan 904 21532 Sikkim 15 633 Uttarakhand 265 136

Total 17090 3070

8/5/2015


8/5/2015





PENDING CASES IN HIGH COURTS

1943 SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN SINGH


(a) whether several lakh cases are pending for disposal at Allahabad and Kolkata High Courts as on31st January, 2011;

(b) whether Government is aware that acute shortage of Judges in Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna andRanchi High Courts is responsible for the huge backlog;

(c) whether it is a fact that in Allahabad High Court some cases are pending since 1981 and somefor over 73 years, because there is shortage of 100 judges; and

(d) whether Government should have consulted the Chief Justice of India that for appointment ofjudges in High Court, persons below 57 years, having good practice, and absolute integrity beconsidered and a panel is drawn by the collegium of each High Court in the next 6 months?

ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE


(a): Yes, Sir.

(b) & (c): As on 28.2.2011, the sanctioned strength and vacancies in these High Courts are asunder:

Name of the High Court Approved Strength VacancyAllahabad 160 95Bombay 75 20Calcutta 58 16Jharkhand 20 8Patna 43 13

There are a number of reasons for the backlog of cases in High Courts. Vacancies of Judges hasbeen identified as one of the reasons for the backlog.

(d): The Central Government has been periodically urging all the Chief Justices of the High Courtsto accord utmost priority to filling up of vacant posts of judges and recommend names of suitablepersons.

Documents

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE RAJYA …