The Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Saturday said that “non-performance by various wings of the executive” and “the legislature not realising its full potential” are the “two major reasons” for docket explosion in the country, while adding that an increase in the sanctioned strength of judges and fill up existing vacancies will help address the issue of pendency.
Inaugurating the 11th Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, the CJI said that “the 140-crore strong population of the world’s largest democracy is bound to test its judiciary” and “no other constitutional court in the world hears such a wide range of issues in such large numbers”.
Explaining the factors that contribute to an increase in litigation, he said that farmers would not go to a court if a Tehsildar acts on their grievances regarding land or a ration card, citizens won’t look to courts if a municipal authority or gram panchayat discharges its duties, and there won’t be land disputes — which account for 66 per cent of pendency — if revenue authorities follow due procedure while acquiring land. Similarly, employees won’t be compelled to approach courts if service laws are applied fairly, and there will be no cases against police investigations if illegal arrests and custodial torture come to an end.
“It is beyond my understanding as to why intra and inter departmental disputes of the government or fights between PSUs and the government end up in courts”, he said, while adding: “It is a well acknowledged fact that the governments are the biggest litigants, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the cases.”
Ramana further said that abiding by law and the constitution is the key to good governance, but that is often ignored, and the opinions of legal departments are not sought in a rush to implement executive decisions.
Contempt petitions, which come up as decisions of courts are not implemented by governments for years together, are a new category of burden on the courts, he pointed out. “The judiciary is also confronted with the issue of the executive willingly transferring the burden of decision making to it. At times, ambiguities in legislation also add to existing legal issues.”
Advocating for debates before a law is passed by the Parliament, the CJI said: “If the legislature passes a law with clarity of thought, foresight and with people’s welfare in mind, the scope for litigation gets minimised. The legislature is expected to solicit the views of the public and debate the Bills, clause by clause, threadbare, before enacting a law.”
He pointed out that frivolous Public Interest Litigations (PIL) are another reason for the pendency. “These days, PILs have become a tool for those who want to settle political scores or corporate rivalry. Realizing the potential for misuse, the courts are now highly cautious in entertaining the same,” Ramana added.
Reiterating the theme of “Indianisation of the Justice Delivery System”, the CJI said that this would mean “increasing accessibility by moulding the system to suit the needs and sensibilities of the Indian population”, adding that this would “call for inclusivity, providing access to justice, removal of language barriers, reforms in practice and procedure, development of infrastructure, filling up of vacancies, and augmenting the strength of the judiciary among others”.“I am receiving many representations for introducing local languages in proceedings before the high courts. I think the time has come now, to revisit the demand and take it to a logical conclusion. The practice of law before constitutional courts should be based on one’s intelligence and understanding of the law, and not mere proficiency in language,” the CJI said.Speaking about filling up of vacancies, the CJI said that “out of 1104 sanctioned posts of high court judges, 388 are vacant”. Of the 180 recommendations made for appointments ever since he assumed office as CJI, the government had made 126 appointments, while 50 proposals are still awaiting approval, Ramana pointed out. “The high courts have sent around 100 names to the Government of India. They are yet to reach us. Data reveals the earnest efforts being made by the judiciary to fill the vacancies.”
Putting out data to show the increase in burden on the judiciary, the CJI said that while the sanctioned strength of judicial officers has increased by only 16 per cent in 6 years, the corresponding rise in pendency in district courts is 54.64 per cent. “This shows how inadequate the increase in the sanctioned strength is. Please be generous in creating more posts and filling the same so that our judge-to-population ratio is comparable to advanced democracies. As per the sanctioned strength, we have just around 20 judges per 10 lakh people, which is alarmingly low.”
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