2. CURRENT SCENARIO
S.N
o.
Name of Court
(INDIA)
Pendency Instituted Disposed
1. Supreme Court 54562 77090 73133
2. High Court 4251041 1947006 1784301
3. Sub-ordinate court 27734599 17996886 18615075
4. Total 32040202 20020982 20472509
3. MAJOR PROBLEMS
To provide
expedite and
cost effective
justice while
maintaining its
quality
Lack of
technological
Assistance
Budgetary
Allocation(less
than 1%)
Vacancies not
being filled
Poor Judicial
Management
4. RIGHT TO SPEEDY TRIAL
• Article 21 under the Indian constitution :- Protection of life and personal liberty-
No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law.
• In Sheela Barse & Ors vs Union Of India & Ors
on 13 August, 1986, it was held that The right to
speedy trial is a fundamental right implicit in
Art. 21 of the Constitution.
• Objective :- to avoid oppression and prevent
delay by imposing on the courts and
on the prosecution on obligation to proceed
with reasonable dispatch.
5. BOOSTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGICAL
ASSISTANCE IN COURTS
IMPROVING TECHNOLOGICAL
ASSISTANCE
•Technological upgradation: Audio-video
recording, computerization, touch screen
kiosks, biometrics for courts,sms based
systems etc.
•Benefits:Data Management Systems ,
Improvement in the case flow systems and
record management at the subordinate
court level, IT changes for trial hearings.
•The no. of E-courts should be increased &
linkages must be improved.
CURBING FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS
•11TH five year plan: Rs.1470 crores allocated(0.07% of the plan outlay)
•Required amount: Approx 2% of annual budget.
•Objective:Enhancing accountability through structural changes and by
setting performance standards and capacities.
•Utility of funds: Planning,creation,development and maintenance
of judicial infrastructure(buildings,libraries,technological assistance)
•Measure:Increase annual budget and ensure collaboration between state
and central government for allocating funds for judiciary.
REDUCING VACANCIES IN JUDICIARY
AND PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL STAFF
•No. of vacancies in courts are as follows:
Supreme Court-4 , High Courts-273 ,Sub-
ordinate courts-3670(Total vacancies-3947)
•Measures:Appointment committee for
judicial posts for filling up the vacancies and
expert assistance for planning judicial budget
at HC level. Post of professional accountants
need to be created to ensure financial
autonomy and audit of accounts.
• Benefits:Reduces burden on judiciary
6. JUDICIAL MANAGEMENT
Case Management :-
Fixing reasonable time table.
effective use of judicial resources.
Working hours
Reduce the no. of holidays.( Current SC- 100, HC-80,
Subordinate -60 )
Increase the span of working hours.
Introduce shift systems.
Judicial officers
Public Relation Officers must be appointed.
Regional Court Management Authority should be
set up which would coordinate with court managers.
Judicial staff must be trained .
7. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL COURTS
FAST TRACK COURTS
•11th finance commission -Rs.502.90 crores for 1734
courts in India .Almost 32.34 lakh cases disposed of
in 10 years.
•Brij Mohan Lal v/s Union of India:-SC directed
centre to provide funds to states to set up fast track
courts
•Current strength -450.Eg:- TN mahila adalats.
•Proposal –set up 5 fast track courts in each distt. ,to
take up cases involving undertrials(those booked for
petty offences),juveniles,violence against women &
senior citizens.
GRAM NYAYALAYAS
•Gram Nyayalayas under Gram Nyayalaya Act,2008.
•To be headed by Nyayadhikari having the same
benefits as Judicial Magistrates of first class.
•Allows plea bargaining.
•Proposal to set up 5000 new courts at village level
•Objective- Reducing pendency of cases and
ensuring speedy justice at village level.
LOK ADALATS
•Lok Adalat- People’s Courts
•Resolving disputes through
mediation.
•Legalised under Legal Service
Authority Act ,1987
•Advantages :-
1)Avoiding lengthy procedures of
normal courts.
2)Award is binding , No provision
of appeal thus saving time.
3)Helps in decentralization of
justice
EVENING COURTS
•Gujarat model – 35000 cases
cleared in Gujarat
•Haryana model – 56 evening
courts to be set up ; 4 done in
Faridabad, Gurgaon, Hisar,Kamal.
•Justice Pinto – Evening courts
can help in faster settlement of
cases.
•Extra Salaries must be paid to
judges.
•Advantages :- Less time
consuming & more efficient.
MOBILE COURTS
•First mobile court setup in Mewat
district, Haryana.
•Equipped to handle both civil and
criminal cases, the mobile court
carries a staff of 12.
•Advantages:
1)Reduces the high cost and long
delays that poor people undergo in
pursuing justice
2)Accessible to remote and
backward areas
3)Speeds up process of justice
8. WORK ETHICS
“Only laws cannot save democracy, it is lawyers and judges who inspire respect for the
laws”- P. Sathasivan (Present Chief Justice of India)
Adjournments
• There are enormous procedural delays due to frequent adjournments. The system of multiple appeals and revisions,
numerous interim and interlocutory applications, indiscriminate adjournments contribute to the cost of litigation and
delay. Adjournments should be granted in rare cases and hence delay in justice can be reduced
Frivolous cases
• Frivolous cases adds up to the burden of judiciary. So lawyers should discourage litigants who approach courts in
frivolous cases. Hence maximum litigations can be minimized. In order to reduce these cases the follow up of following
act is necessary-”Prevention of vexetious litigation act”
Out of court
settlements
• Since there are lots of cases pending in the courts therefore encoraging out of court settlements is required. It is the
need of hour that lawyers and judges create an environment which promotes the given agenda.
Briefs
• Briefs must be exchanged between both the parties and it should also be submitted to the judge. This reduces the time
lost in briefing done by both the parties during a trial.Hence reducing the time of hearing of cases.
Performance
standards
• Adequate and comprehensive performance standards at court levels should be ensured. The Legal Services Authorities
should become more efficient and cater services to masses.
9. INCREASING
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS
COLLABORATIVE LAW
•Resolution not imposed
•An attorney for each side
facilitates resolution process
within specifically contracted
terms
•Formalized process that is
part of the litigation and
court system
•Generally used for divorce .
MEDIATION
•Third party, facilitates
resolution process
•Resolution not imposed
•Section 89 of CPC
•Eg :- Bangalore Mediation
Centre mediated 18000
cases from 2007-2012 with
success rate of about 64%
•Eg:- Lok Adalats
NEGOTIATION
•Participation voluntary
•No third party
•An organization or a person
could coach the parties
“Helping people help
themselves”
•Eg :- Plea bargaining
ARBITRATION
•Third party, a private judge,
resolution is imposed.
•Scott Avery Clause:-
contracts contain clause
stating arbitration as the
resolution method.
•Governed by Arbitration
and Conciliation Act, 1996
10. IMPACTS AT MACRO LEVEL
• Provides closure and speedy justice to the
victims and their kin
• Deterrent effects of conviction on criminals
• Enhances accountability and democratic
governance
• Reinforces confidence in rule of law
• Enhances wealth production
11. HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION
• In a property case, two brothers and a married sister inheriting movable and
immovable property of their father. One brother gives notice to his siblings
demanding partition and equal share. The other siblings reply admitting the share.
The dispute arises to which property should be distributed among the heirs. A suit
for partition is filed and upon the admission of entitlement of shares, the Court
immediately appointing a Commissioner to conduct inventory of movable property
and suggest measures for division of immovable property. The Commissioner
submitted joint report. Parties agree so far as distribution of movable as suggested
by the Commissioner. With respect to the distribution of immovable property, a
senior advocate is appointed by Court as mediator. The learned mediator holds two
sittings and convinces parties about resolving dispute as early as possible to save
money and court’s time. As the parties a re educated, they agree to the mediator’s
suggestion and prepare consent terms and file the same before the Court. The Court
accepts the Consent terms and the dispute is amicably resolved.
• From the date of sending the Notice, filing the suit, appointing Commissioner and
thereafter the mediation proceedings and filing of consent terms, the time taken to
complete this process is maximum 6 months. Ordinarily, the suit for partition is
fought on ego and concludes in passing of preliminary decree takes at least 5 years.
Thereafter, appeal to District Court and second appeal to High Court takes at least
another 10 years. Sadly at the end, the real beneficiaries are not the litigants but
more than 10 advocates who work on different stages and levels.
12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• National Court Management Systems (NCMS)
• Supreme Court
http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/ncms27092012.pdf
(statistics for the Graph)
• http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo/18054716.cms
• www.izquotes.com
• http://indialawyers.wordpress.com/category/justice/
• http://www.va.gov/adr/Awards.asp
• D D Basu
• Report of the working group for the twelfth five year plan
• Civil Services Chronicle issue sept.2011
• Lawcommissionofindia.nic.in
