Assam govt to come up with litigation policy wherein cases with quantum of sentence of less than three years will be withdrawn

Assam government has decided to come up with a new litigation policy wherein cases with quantum of sentence of less than three years will be withdrawn. The state government plans to do away with 86,000 cases by this measure.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “In next 15 days we will come up with a new litigation policy wherein cases where three years’ sentences and cases which were brought by state will be withdrawn. We will move court in this regard. By this measure we will be able to wipe out 86,000 cases.”

Sarma and Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court Justice RM Chhaya on Friday inaugurated Barpeta district's newly constructed judicial court building at an official ceremony.


Sarma asked people to opt for out-of-court, traditional system of solving disputes through mediation by family elders, etc. in matters of less serious nature, so that the formal judicial system can dedicate its workforce and time on issues of serious nature such as murder, rape, etc.

He stated that due to issues and cases of less serious nature burdening the judiciary, justice for victims of heinous crimes are getting delayed.

The Chief Minister, during his address, also declared that the government of Assam will spend a total of Rs 300 crore in the next three years to develop and upgrade the infrastructure of the district and sub-divisional judicial courts of the various districts in the state.

Sarma in his independence day speech had announced that his government will withdraw one lakh minor cases, including some involving social media posts, to reduce burden on lower courts.

He said that the state government shall file a petition soon, requesting the courts to withdraw all cases of mild nature like objectionable comments on Facebook, Twitter etc., registered till August 14 at midnight this year.

According to the Chief Minister, this will erase nearly 1 lakh pending cases from the judiciary system in Assam which will help courts to focus on clearing 4.5 lakh other pending cases in Assam.