Fast-track justice delivery process: PM to judges

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday asked the judiciary to focus on ���wiping every tear of every waiting litigant��� by addressing the ���scourge��� of having the world���s largest backlog cases. At a day-long meeting of chief justices and chief ministers here, he said elimination of this backlog was the biggest challenge for such conferences.

���Like Gandhiji���s common man, the focus of the judicial system should to be to wipe every tear of every waiting litigant. I hope your deliberations will be centred on the single most important stakeholder in this system, the consumer of justice.

Unless we meet his or her legitimate demands and expectations in letter and spirit, we cannot rest in peace,��� he said. The prime minister also announced that the government has agreed to establish 71 additional CBI courts in different states, on the advice of the Chief Justice of India. He said fast track courts should conduct their business differently and faster than normal courts to enable tackling of pendency in cases.

Seeking a pledge from the judiciary to ensure an arrear-free judicial system, Mr Singh assured that the government will not be found wanting at any level in this effort. ���In this war on arrears, the entire legal system ...has to function as a seamless web. Naturally, the apex court has to discharge a vital role. It has to be a catalyst, an organiser, a mentor, an umpire, and, above all, a role model, all at the same time,��� Mr Singh said.