MOUNTING BACKLOG OF COURT CASES

It is universally accepted that dispensation of justice in a speedy, economical and efficacious manner is one of the primary functions of the sovereign. Unfortunately, the Indian state has not been able to discharge this crucial sovereign function despite repeated declarations of intent and commitment. The courts and other tribunals of adjudication are confronted with a mounting backlog of cases, which clogs the system of adjudication, demoralises the protagonists and prolongs the time taken to settle a dispute. The disposal of cases is unable to keep pace with the institution and the problem gets aggravated with the passage of time. At the last count, the Supreme Court had 46,926 pending cases (December 2007). This marks a progressive deterioration from the year 1998, when the pendency had been brought down to 19,806 cases from the peak figure of 104,936 in 1991 as a result of summary disposal of infructuous cases, clubbing of similar cases and better docket management enabled by information technology. Meanwhile, between 1993 and June 2007, the number of pending cases in the High Courts has risen from 2.65 million to 3.71 million. In parallel, the pendency in district and subordinate courts has gone up from 20.41 million in 2000 to 25.07 million in June 2007.

The cost of justice delayed is staggering. Apart from causing enormous suffering to the hapless litigants, it imposes a severe strain on the polity and slows down economic growth. As is to be expected, the poor are the worst sufferers in this situation; the well to do have the wherewithal to circumvent and overcome the obstacles in their way.

- Kamal Kant Jaswal

Jan-March, 2008