Expressing concern over the pendency of cases, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said that more than two lakh cases are in courts for 25 years, while over 1,000 cases have not been disposed of even after five decades. Speaking at a public function, Gogoi said though the judiciary faces criticism for the huge number of pending cases, it is not entirely responsible for the delay as the executive also has some responsibility in the justice delivery mechanism. He also expressed hope that the Centre will accept his proposal to raise the retirement age of high court judges to 65 years from the current 62. Meanwhile the Lok Sabha on Monday gave its nod to a bill to increase the strength of Supreme Court judges from the present 30 to 33. As of now, the Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 30 judges, plus the chief justice of India which makes it 31 judges.

Present Status of pendency in Indian Judiciary:

• As per the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), in 2018, 93 crore cases are pending in the subordinate courts, 49 lakhs in High Courts and 57,987 (Meanwhile it is 59,331) cases in Supreme Court.
• In the Supreme Court, more than 30% of pending cases are more than five years old while in the Allahabad High Court, 15% of the appeals have been pending since 1980s.
• A Law Commission report in 2009 quoted that it would require 464 years to clear the arrears with the present strength of judges.
• Eighteen months after the crime, a special court in Pathankot delivered its verdict on the Kathua case.
• Most cases in India, because of delays at both the police and judiciary levels take far longer.
• Across India’s subordinate courts — the first port-of-call for most cases — more than a third of the 31 million cases have been pending for more than three years.
• In the High Courts, the pendency is even higher: half of all the 8 million cases in the High Courts have been pending for more than three years.
• The lower courts in West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar, in particular, struggle to dispose their cases. In all three states, nearly 50% of cases in the lower courts have been pending for more than three years.
• However, some state courts, though, dispose of cases more quickly.
• In Punjab and Haryana for instance, less than 6% of all cases have been pending for more than three years.
• Overall, eastern states have much higher pendency rates compared to the western states of the country.

Concerns

• High Courts selecting the Judges: In the lower Judiciary, there are civil judges and higher judicial service people. So far as civil judges are concerned, they are normally selected by the Public Service Commission but the Higher Judicial Service people are often selected by the High Courts. Judges are competent in deciding a dispute but may not be similarly competent in selecting the people to fill the vacancies.
• The difference in the retirement age: The current age of retirement for the Supreme Court judges is 65 years while for the High Court Judges is 62 years. This three-year difference often influences administrative decisions.
• Poor ‘Judge to People’ Ratio: India has 20 judges per million population, the lowest in the world. The highest being in America which is 107 per million population.
• Vacancies: In the lower courts, over 5,000 posts of judicial officers are vacant. In some cases, the examination to fill such posts is conducted through the state public service commissions, it seems that the commissions have failed to do their job.
• Poor Quality of Judges: Many-a-times, especially at the lower judiciary, Judges are asked to decide an issue about which they have no knowledge at all. It has been seen that most of the times, the judges ask the client about the related law and the statute.
• Huge Pendency: Close to 2.7 crore cases are pending in the trial courts. According to the 2012 report by National Court Management Systems, India is going to see a rise in the pendency of the cases to almost 15 crore cases in the next three decades.
• Collegium, not doing its job: The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court was 31 including the CJI but India has hardly had 31 judges as the collegium did not fill up the vacancies in a timely manner. People in the collegium know which judge is going to retire on which date but still they do not take decisions in advance and thus vacancy remains.

Role of the Executive

• It is the executive which has to take the ultimate decision as far as providing finances to the judiciary is concerned.
• It is the executive’s duty to provide the necessary infrastructure to the judges and lay down certain standards.
• It is in the executive''s hand to increase the number of judges. For eg, in the recent case the number has been increased by making a simple amendment in the Supreme Court (Number of Judges Act), 1956.

Who appoints judges to the SC?

• In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the appointments are made by the President of India.
• The names are recommended by the Collegium.

Eligibility to become a Supreme Court judge

• The norms relating to the eligibility has been envisaged in the Article 124 of the Indian Constitution.
• To become a judge of the Supreme court, an individual should be an Indian citizen.
• In terms of age, a person should not exceed 65 years of age.
• The person should serve as a judge of one high court or more (continuously), for at least five years or the person should be an advocate in the High court for at least 10 years or a distinguished jurist.

Suggestions

• Strengthening E-Court System:There is a need to implement a robust e-court system that can streamline court processes, reduce paperwork, and improve efficiency. This includes digitizing case records, enabling online filing of cases, e-summons, e-payment, and video conferencing for hearings.
  • The Union Budget 2023-24allocated Rs 7,000 crore for the launch of the third phase of the e-Courts project.
  • The Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) by the Department of Justicealso aims to develop infrastructure facilities for the judiciary.
    • The CSS enhances state government resources for constructing court buildings, digital computer rooms, lawyers'' halls, toilet complexes, and residential accommodations for judicial officers.
    • The fund-sharing pattern is60:40 (Centre: State), 90:10 for 8 North-Eastern and 2 Himalayan States, and 100% central funding for Union Territories.
    • Former CJI, N.V. Ramana suggested to develop aNational Judicial Infrastructure Authority of India (NJIAI) for arranging adequate infrastructure for courts.
  • Transforming the Appointment System:Vacancies must be filled immediately, and it is necessary to establish an appropriate timeline for the appointment of judges and to provide the suggestions in advance.
    • Another significant element that can unquestionably aid India in developing a better judicial system is the All India Judicial Services (AIJS).
  • Case Management Software:There is a need to develop and deploy case management software that can help track case progress, automate administrative tasks, and facilitate better coordination among judges, lawyers, and court staff. It can improve the overall efficiency of the judicial process.
  • Data Analytics and Case Prediction:India can utilise data analytics and artificial intelligence to analyse past judgments and predict case outcomes to assist judges in making informed decisions, reducing inconsistencies and improving the quality of judgments.
    • However, it is vital to ensure that itplays only a secondary role.
  • Public Legal Education: There is a need topromote public legal education and awareness programs that can empower citizens to understand their rights and obligations, reducing unnecessary litigation and promoting out-of-court settlements.

• Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism: Use of mediation, conciliation and Lok Adalats will ease the burden on the mainstream judiciary.

• A case has to be ultimately decided; therefore, unlimited stays should be discouraged. The Indian Judiciary needs professional court managers for handling its administrative work.
• Citizen Feedback Mechanism:There is a need to establish a feedback mechanism where citizens can provide feedback on the judicial process and court experiences can help identify shortcomings and areas for improvement.

Looking ahead

There is a need to take a holistic and realistic view of the present situation of the Indian Judiciary. The Executive needs to ensure that every order it passes should be clear i.e. it needs to mention things like the authority and intention behind the order, remedy available, etc. A proper white paper on the entire state of the Indian Judiciary is needed. Once the white paper is released, a proper discussion by all the stakeholders (i.e.) the Supreme Court, High Courts, the central government, state governments, the Law Commission, academia and media, etc, is required.