The Supreme Court has called for proactive steps to clear mounting pendency in courts, saying speedy justice is fast becoming a chimera for the 6% population involved in litigation.
A Bench headed by Justice S.R. Bhat, who retired this week, said in its order that delay tactics employed to prolong litigation was wearing out the patience and faith of the public in courts.
“There is an urgent need to take proactive steps to not only clear the huge backlog of cases at all levels… It is imperative to note that about six percent 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 the rule of law,” the Supreme Court observed.
The Bench, which also comprised Justice Aravind Kumar, passed a slew of directions to district and taluka levels on matters like the execution of summons, filing of written statements, completion of pleadings, recording of admissions and denials, framing of issues and fixing of trial for swift disposal of cases.
The apex court directed courts at district and taluka levels to ensure proper execution of the summons and in a time-bound manner. It said the progress of summons and their execution would be monitored by principal district judges, their statistics to be collated and placed before a constituted by the High Court concerned.
It also directed the setting of committees by the Chief Justices of the respective States to constantly monitor old cases pending for more than five years.
The court said millions of consumers of justice file their cases expecting speedy justice so there was an onerous responsibility on all stakeholders to ensure that the people’s faith in this system was not eroded on account of delayed justice.
The verdict came on a plea of Yashpal Jain who had moved the top court assailing a 2019 order of the Uttarakhand High Court in a civil dispute. The case, which began 43 years ago in a local court there, was still continuing.
The Bench set aside the High Court’s order and asked the lower court to decide the plea of Mr. Jain in six months.
