Poor management of courts responsible for backlog: Study

NEW DELHI: Poor management of courts has resulted in a backlog of nearly three crore cases across the country and cutting 50 per cent wastage of judicial time would be equal to appointing double the number of incumbent judges, says a study.

The study conducted by Raj Kachroo, a judicial activist, who is on a country-wide 'March for Justice', says the idea of pinning the blame for the backlog solely on scarcity of judges was "flawed" and identified frequent adjournment of hearings as one of the prime factors for delays.

It recommends better work allocation to judges in district courts besides introduction of a data management system for courts to cut down on delays.

"The argument that the number of judges per million of population in India is less than the West is flawed because half of India that lives for less than 50 rupees per day has nothing to do with the judiciary. Comparison should be between the number of cases disposed of by a judge in the West compared to India," the study says.

As per official figure, around 2.64 crore cases were pending in courts across the country, including in the Supreme Court and high courts, as on December 31, 2015. Till March 2015, 61,300 cases were pending in the apex court.

There has been a demand for enhancing the strength of judges in 24 high courts. Following a decision to increase the number of judges by 25 per cent, the sanctioned strength went up to 1017 judges in High Courts as of June, 2015, as against 906 in March, 2014.

In the study, Kachroo says poor management of courts is an important factor in judicial backlog.

"Shortage of judges is not an important factor. If we can stop wastage of judicial time by 50 per cent, we will, implicitly, double the number of judges in the country without appointing any new ones," the study says.

Kachroo says a quarter of the workload of Delhi High Court is because of civil writ petitions and disposal in this category outside the courtroom can bring down the pendency dramatically.

Similarly, cheque bouncing cases, whose number he says is significant, can be disposed of by bringing an amendment to the existing law.

"Adjournment is a serious cause of delays. It has been turned into a strategic tool of defence by lawyers. It needs to be set right. A simple management tool can bring down the rate of adjournment dramatically," he says.

The country-wide 'March for Justice' by a group advocating judicial reforms began on January 30. It aims at sensitising people about the need for time-bound disposal and reduction in backlog of cases. Kachroo says prolonged delays in disposal of cases was "crippling" the justice delivery system.

The activists participating in the march, comprising largely social workers and lawyers, will cover around 170 districts and major towns across 22 states during the 35-day march christened 'Nyay Yatra'. It will conclude on March 4 at Jantar Mantar.