- The document discusses the problem of pendency of cases in Indian courts and proposes various solutions to improve efficiency and reduce pendency. It notes that pendency has increased substantially in Supreme Courts, High Courts, and Subordinate Courts from 2011-2020. - Three main solutions proposed are reforms at school/college level to promote interest in law, introduction of a prestigious All India Judicial Services exam to attract talented candidates, and measures to reduce job insecurity for lawyers and judges. - Implementing these solutions like establishing special courts, using technology in courts, monitoring judge performance, and providing training could help expedite justice and ensure timely resolution of cases. Challenges around funding and political will would need mitigation.

1. Ensuring expeditious and timely justice to all
CITIZEN’S APPEAL
Team: PARIVARTAN(122)
College: Indian Institute Of Technology, Delhi
Nitish Goel Alok Parul Gupta Shiven Rastogi Vivek Kumar Gupta

2. The Problem
58519
67946
90000
0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000
Supreme Courts
Pendency of Cases
4324742
5021428
6651289
0 2000000 4000000 6000000 8000000
High
Courts
26986307
31333612
41503915
0 10000000 20000000 30000000 40000000 50000000
Subordinate
Courts
2020 (Estimated) 2013 2011
The problem of judiciary is one which affects the
country as a whole and not a particular section of
the society or a group of people. Considering the
high crime rate in India, the provision of
expeditious and timely justice is a must.
Causes for the current situation:
• Shortage of staff at all levels
• Lack of infrastructure
• Inadequate budget allocation
• Heavy paperwork in compiling data
• Less availability of data in real-time
• Less awareness amongst the masses
INEFFICIENCY

3. The Redressal : Bridging the gap between Requirement and Availability
Factor
Time
Judge to population
ratio.
No. of judges in 21
High courts
No of Supreme Court
Judges.
Subordinate courts
Present condition 14 per 10 lakh 622 28 14924
Present requirement 40 per 10 lakh 895 31 18871
Requirement After 5
years
50 per 10 lakh 1700(Calculated) 50(Rough estimate as
per ratios)
42640
The more the merrier is something in which Indians don’t seem to believe in. Unfortunately, elite and prestigious jobs of
judges, are also facing an acute shortage of human resources and there seems to be no way out of it.
India has just 13 judges for every ten lakh people as against 35-40 in other developing nations and 50 in a developed
country. Department of Justice informed the panel that of the 18,000 positions of judges, about 15,000 are presiding the
courts and there is a proposal to add another 15,000 positions in the next five years which will take the number to 30,000.
Moreover, minimum number of staff in a given Court is fixed by Government Circulars unmindful of the number of matters
in that Court.
Proposed
Solution
Introduction
of prestigious
IJS exam
Reforms at
School/College
level
Reducing Job
insecurity

4. Introduction of prestigious IJS exam
If implemented in letter and spirit, the creation of All India Judiciary Services
would naturally help attract bright and capable young law graduates to the
judiciary, who otherwise prefer immediate remunerative employment in the
government and the private sector. For the subordinate judicial officers it
would ensure equitable service conditions besides providing them with a
wider field to probe their mettle.
The measure of uniformity in standards for selection will improve the quality
of personnel in different high courts, as about one-third of judges come
there on promotion from the subordinate courts. In this process only
persons of proven competence will preside over the benches of superior
courts, thereby minimizing the scope of partiality, arbitrariness and
aberrations in judicial selection. Simultaneously, the quality of dispensation
of justice will also improve considerably right from the top to the bottom, as
it essentially depends upon the quality of judges recruited.
The reform should help considerably in toning up the judicial administration
by throwing open appointments to talented persons across the country. In
addition, the objective of introducing an outside element in high court
benches can be achieved better and more smoothly because a member of
an all-India judicial service will have no mental block about interstate
transfers. It will enrich their experience and make them better judges.
The Redressal : Bridging the gap between Requirement and Availability
Reforms at School/College level
Besides setting up more Law colleges in India,
changes in school level course regarding law and
order should be proposed which shall provide a
better insight into the field. Introduce new courses
like ”Legal Studies” in classes X and XII so that a
student could at least know of his interest in a
specific region. “Case Studies” of certain important
and debatable cases can also be incorporated in
Civics which would build up students’ interest. At
college level, introduction of compulsory course on
introduction to law would help to popularize the
field amongst youngsters. Law should be projected
as a challenging profession which involves
interpretation of the law according to a given
situation. Since Legal Studies and Law is an area
least explored, not many people know of what
exactly a job of lawyer is, because of which there is
a direct effect on the number of lawyers and judges
in the system.

5. Reducing Job insecurity
Considering that there is a provision to appoint distinguished lawyers as
judges , the following measures can be adopted to tackle shortage of
staff
1. Indian Law Services: Introducing services like Indian Law Services
with the objective to appoint public prosecutors and other
government employed lawyers. The minimum age limit of 35 years
for public prosecutor should be reduced to 25, along with
the introduction of a concept of training, similar to those in other
civil services.
2. Government consulting firms could be set up with a sole purpose of
providing legal consultancy to the needy.
3. Alternative Profession choices : Lawyers and judges could indulge in
policy and law making. The skills developed through legal studies are
sufficient for one to get involved in such a thing as these skills can
be generalized into many frames of life. As a matter of fact, many
great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Ambedkar and Nehru come
from such a background.
Reforms at
School/College
level
• Will create interest among
students towards the field
before they actually decide
their career plan.
Introduction
of prestigious
IJS exam
• Will make law a coveted
profession.
• Same influence as IAS exam has
on parents/students.
Reducing Job
insecurity
• Will help drive away the fear of
unemployment.
• Would be a step to tackle
unemployment in general.

6. Implementation
Reforms at School/College level
 Central and state education
departments need to consult the
subject experts to design the
curriculum to be taught.
 Further appointment of teachers
needs to be made to teach these
subjects to the students.
Financial Considerations
The Education department already
has access to a good proportion of
the country’s GDP, therefore there is
no need for allocation of new funds.
Introduction of prestigious IJS exam
 Article 312 provides for the creation of
an All India services if the council of
states has declared by resolution
supported by 2/3rd majority that it is
the in the national interest so to do,
Parliament may by law provide for the
creation of one or more all India services.
 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
can be directed to organize an All India
Judicial services exam.
Financial Considerations
• Payment of newly recruited judges as per
Govt. of India norms.
• Making provision of various perks.
Infrastructural Considerations
• New Court complexes, residential
complexes and transport facilities
Human Resources
• Appointment of staff to complement
new judges.
Reducing Job insecurity
 Annual recruitments for the
Indian law services can be done
by a two step procedure- a
written exam and an interview.
Selected candidates can be
trained for two years to attain
the required skills and the
various disciplines like criminal
cases, property disputes etc. can
be allotted on the combined
basis of merit and interest
 Introduction of a few other
relevant humanities subjects in
law graduation can give students
a better insight into alternate
options available to them like
legal writing, editing and
publishing. A lawyer’s research
work proves highly effective for
certain reforms that are required

7. Targeting Effectiveness: Improving Efficiency
Training
• Every judge must be trained
and imparted Communication
and management skills and
some degree of knowledge of
non-legal areas such as
sociology and psychology. For
those who are likely to deal
with economic laws, specialized
knowledge of economics,
finance and accounting and for
those specializing in
environment cases, special
knowledge of environmental
laws will be necessary.
• An year long induction training
program for newly recruited
Prosecutors and Judges, a part
of which should be with the
police, forensic laboratories,
courts and prisons
No more Pleadings
Both the prosecution as well as
the respondent party must
directly summarize their
viewpoint initially, this would
directly effect the time taken for
the case to complete. It would
drastically reduce the time taken
in the initial stages of the case
where the lawyers seek dates in
order to prepare their cases
Categorization of Courts in India
Outside the pyramid of courts of
general jurisdiction ,more special
courts such as environmental
courts, employment courts,
coroner’s court, administrative
appeals tribunal, market
misconduct tribunals etc. should
be established and especially a
Women’s court for crimes related
to women. Such categorization
would naturally deciding the cases
more quickly as the judge would
be able to arrive to conclusions
based on his experience on
handling a particular type of cases

8. Functioning of the courts
Increase of court time by half an hour and avoidance of
unnecessary adjournments by introducing a rule that
compensates the accused for delay in justice.
Helping out the judges
A panel of experts be drawn from various disciplines such
as auditing, computer science, banking, engineering and
revenue matters etc. to assist the judge in understanding
the technical aspects of the case before them
Technological inputs
SMS servers can be set up to inform the accused or
defendant to appear before the court instead to letters,
and people can be fined if they fail to comply. This will
save a lot of time and money
The role of Lawyers
Lawyers are often involved in the disruption of court work
on occasions such as the death of a local dignitary or
strikes and end up skipping the work for the day. Such
disruptions need to be avoided and lawyers be
reprimanded for employing delay tactics in order to
harass the accused.
Ensuring the police does its job
In criminal cases, a lot depends on the police action for
presenting the necessary evidences and producing the
accused. Police is sometimes casual in these matters which
leads to unnecessary delay as the hearing cannot take place.
Strict directives be issued to the police to ensure that they
possess all the adequate information
Appraisal of judges
The best way to get the maximum out of the judges is to link
their performance in deciding the pending cases to their
promotions by including a section corresponding to it in
their ACRs. This way, they will be more motivated to cope up
with the large number of cases in their courts.
Targeting Effectiveness: Improving Efficiency

9. Implementation
 New rules regarding the functioning of the courts are introduced by the Supreme Court. The directives issued are
implemented throughout the country. All the measures adopted for the method of functioning of the various courts are
brought into effect by the Supreme Court. It can set an example by delivering a judgment in cases where they have been
pending for a long time by bringing into consideration this fact. Such a ruling will be binding on the lower courts and
many cases on similar patterns can be decided quickly.
 Fast track courts and their categorization has to be approved by the Government and the judges appointed to run these
courts.
 Incorporating technology in the day to day working of the courts can be implemented with the help of Telecom Ministry
and Department of Science and Technology which can provide the necessary digital infrastructure
 The necessary funds need to be accounted for only by the Government because private funding would affect the
impartiality of the courts. Some funds from the defence sector could be diverted to the judiciary because India, being a
developing nation cannot afford to cut down on funds for education, research etc. The wars nowadays are more
psychological in nature. Moreover, creation of necessary infrastructure is a single time investment and the subsequent
funds needed would be lesser
 Separate funds for law research should be put aside which will ultimately prove useful for policy framing in various fields

10. Impact
Our proposed solutions to the problem of pendency of cases in India, if implemented successfully will surely go a great way in
the provision of timely justice to the people of India. A solution to such a problem is useless if it cannot be expressed in the
form of numbers.
 Criteria to measure the impact
The best criteria to measure the impact of the solution would be to ascertain the number of cases disposed off
within a stipulated period of time. The solution can be considered successful if its implementation reduces the
pending cases. For the academic reforms, surveys can be conducted which would throw light on the number of
students opting for law
 Sustainability
The solutions proposed by us are sustainable and do not involve any long term implications. The measures
suggested for improving the efficiency of the judges can be continuously monitored and based on the outputs and
shortcomings, new measures can be suggested and the system improved
 Appropriate monitoring mechanisms
Surveys by external agencies cannot be carried out in the matters of the judiciary. Internal reviews have to be
carried out effectively and the reports submitted to ensure that everything is being followed. The subordinate
courts are monitored by High Courts. Performance indicators in the form of appraisal reports which highlight the
efficiency of the judges in disposing of old cases

11. Challenges and Mitigation Factors
Implementation of the solution to a problem as grave as ensuring timely justice poses certain challenges as well.
Bringing into effect something on an all-India basis is no easy job considering the diversity in India. It is next to
impossible to propose a please-all solution. These are the challenges which we believe might confront our solutions
 Challenges to the proposed solution
• Economic: Allocation of funds for the new workforce and creation of necessary infrastructure can be a tedious
process considering the elaborate procedure in place for approving any funding scheme by the Government. It is
the Central Government which mainly provides the funds for judiciary. States have been making negligible
provision in the Budgets to the third pillar of democracy.
• Political: Creation of an All India services requires ⅔ ratification of the states and both the houses of the
Parliament. It can be a difficult task to accomplish. For instance, people in favour of regionalism could oppose
people coming from other states to serve as judges citing cultural and language differences.
 Means to mitigate the identified challenges
• Political: Such people need to made aware of the benefits of an All India service. Training programmes to
familiarise the judges with the local tradition can be initiated which would also help them in deciding the cases.
• Economic: The States should volunteer to provide more funds to the judiciary as timely justice is an indispensable
part of good governance. The requests of the judicial funds should be fast tracked so that courts could perform
their duties unhindered.

12. Appendix
References:
1. National Court Management Systems : Policy and Action plan dated 27-09-2012
2. REFORMS IN THE JUDICIARY – SOME SUGGESTIONS by Law Commission of India.
3. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-06/india/40406927_1_hc-judges-higher-
judiciary-high-courts
4. http://www.thestatesman.net/news/3828-merits-of-all-india-judicial-service.html?page=1
5. http://www.thestatesman.net/news/3828-merits-of-all-india-judicial-service.html?page=2