As per data available on the National Judicial Data Grid there are 11.1 million civil cases pending across the courts in the country.
Every pending case represents a soul in limbo, waiting for closure and vindication, the Supreme Court said on Friday, speeding up trials in civil cases pending for five years or more across the country, and asking the Chief Justices of all High Courts to constantly monitor the progress in such trials. (PTI).
“It is crucial to understand that the wheels of justice must not merely turn, they must turn without friction, without bringing it to a grinding halt due to unwarranted delay. It is for such reasons that the system itself is being ridiculed not only by the litigant public but also by the general public... Sadly, the concept of justice delayed is justice denied is not a mere truism, but an irrefutable truth,”said a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar.Concerned that the spectre of delay and pendency has cast a long shadow upon the dispensation of justice, the court issued a string of directions for the civil court judges to unfailingly comply with the procedural timelines laid down under the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) regarding summons, written statements and framing of issues, among others, adding the trial should proceed accordingly to the extent possible, on day-to-day basis.“It is undisputedly accepted that the significance of a swift and efficient judiciary cannot be overstated. It is a cornerstone of democracy, a bulwark against tyranny, and the guarantor of individual liberties. The voices of the oppressed, the rights of the marginalized, the claims of the aggrieved—all are rendered hollow when justice is deferred. Every pending case represents a soul in limbo, waiting for closure and vindication. Every delay is an affront to the very ideals that underpin our legal system,” it rued.According to data available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), there are 11.1 million civil cases pending across the courts in the country with 22% of these cases being at least five years old. The court’s anguish on Friday came to fore as it drew curtains on a civil case pending for 41 years.
“Even after 41 years, the parties to this are still groping in the dark and litigating...This is a classic case and a mirror to the fact that litigant public may become disillusioned with judicial processes due to inordinate delay in the legal proceedings, not reaching its logical end, and moving at a snail’s pace,” stated the judgment, authored by justice Aravind Kumar.
Noting that much of the delay happened due to procedural laxities and easy adjournments, the court said proactive steps are required to not only clear the huge backlog of cases at all levels but there should be introspection by all the stakeholders so as to curtail the methods adopted to delay the proceedings.
“When millions of consumers of justice file their cases by knocking at the doors of the courts of first instance, they expect speedy justice. Thus, an onerous responsibility vests on all stakeholders to ensure that the people’s faith in this system is not eroded on account of delayed justice. It is imperative to note that about 6 per cent of the population in India is affected by litigation, in such a scenario the courts would play an important role in the life of a nation governed by rule of law,” added the court.
The bench pointed out that there are review committees functional in most high courts to take stock of the case-flow management system, but the effective implementation seems to have gone into oblivion. It directed that monthly statistics relating to the cases pending in each court beyond five years shall be forwarded by every presiding officer to the principal district judge, who shall collate the same and forward it to the review committee constituted by the respective high courts for enabling it to take further steps.
“The committee so constituted by the Hon’ble chief justice of the respective states shall meet at least once in two months and direct such corrective measures to be taken by concerned court as deemed fit and shall also monitor the old cases (preferably which are pending for more than five years) constantly,” the bench added.When the efficiency has become the hallmark of modern civilisation and in all spheres of life, it emphasised, there is an urgent need to hasten the pace of delivery of justice by reducing the time period occupied by the trial of suits and criminal proceedings.
THERE ARE ABOUT 80000 CASES PENDING IN THE SUPREME COURT. ABOUT 10000 CASES ARE PENDING FOR MORE THAN A DECADE AND ABOUT 19000 CASES FOR OVER FIVE YEARS TO TEN YEARS.
LET US HOPE THE SUPREME COURT WOULD TAKE PROACTIVE STEPS TO CLEAR THE PENDENCY OF CASES TO THE MAXIMUM. CASES PENDING FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, INCLUDING OUR SLPS, SHOULD BE TAKEN UP FOR HEARING AND FINALLY DISPOSED OFF EARNESTLY WITHIN A TIME FRAME SET. THIS IS WHAT THE SUPREME COURT EXPECTS FROM THE HIGH COURTS AND THE SUBORDINATE COURTS.
SN
(From Sources: Hindustan Times, Times of India and Judgement on
41 year old case of Yashpal Jain v/s Sushila Devi & Ors.)