As many as 3.78 lakh cases are pending in various courts of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Over 3 lakh cases are pending in the District and Subordinate Courts of Jammu and Kashmir, while 1,456 cases remain unresolved in Ladakh. The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is dealing with a backlog of 45,464 cases.
Sharing details about pending cases in different parts of the country, Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha revealed 87,171 cases are pending in the Supreme Court, while a backlog of pending cases in the district and subordinate courts is 57,82,786 and 4,56,61,00 cases, respectively.
The highest number of 1,24,32,806 cases are pending in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Giving reasons for vacant positions in the lower courts, the Minister said that the filling up of vacant positions in the case of district and subordinate courts is the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned.
“As per the Constitutional framework, in exercise of powers conferred under proviso to Article 309 read with Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution, the respective State Government in consultation with the High Court frames the rules and regulations regarding the appointment and recruitment of Judicial Officers in the respective State Judicial Service”, the Minister said.
The Minister further said that the Supreme Court vide order passed in January 2007 in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case, has inter-alia, stipulated certain timelines, which are to be followed by the States and the respective High Courts for recruitment of judges in District and Subordinate Courts.
“Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed under Articles 124, 217, and 224 of the Constitution of India and according to the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgment of October 6, 1993 (Second Judges case) read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998 (Third Judges case)”, the Minister said.
“As per the MoP, the responsibility for initiation of proposals for the appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, in consultation with two senior-most puisne Judges of the High Court. For appointments to the High Courts, under the MOP, the views of the concerned State Government are also obtained”, he said, adding, “The recommendations also have to be considered in the light of such other reports as may be available to the Government in respect of the names under consideration. The recommendations of the High Court Collegium, the State Governments, and the Government of India are then forwarded to the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for advice. Only those persons are appointed as Judges of High Courts, whose names have been recommended by the SCC”.
Appointment of judges is a continuous process between the executive and judiciary. The Minister further said that the appointment of the Judges of the Constitutional Courts is a continuous, integrated, and collaborative process between the Executive and the Judiciary.
“It requires consultation and approval from various constitutional authorities both at the State and central level. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies of Judges in High Courts do keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges and also due to increase in the strength of Judges”, he said.
Fast Track Special Courts disposed of 242 cases
The Minister informed that in Jammu and Kashmir, the Fast Track Special Courts have disposed of 242 cases. Four Fast Track Special Courts have been established in Jammu and Kashmir to provide speedy justice to the people.
“The disposal of pending cases in a time-bound manner is within the exclusive domain of the judiciary. However, the government is committed to facilitating an ecosystem for expeditious disposal of cases by the judiciary and reducing pendency as mandated under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the minister said.
The Minister informed that the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up by the government in 2011, with the twin objectives of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and setting performance standards and capacities.
“The Mission has been pursuing a coordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves improved infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development”, the Minister said.