{"id":12207,"date":"2018-09-03T13:14:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-03T07:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/?p=12207"},"modified":"2018-09-03T13:14:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-03T07:44:00","slug":"president-kovind-laments-gross-delay-in-legal-system-cji-announces-remedial-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/president-kovind-laments-gross-delay-in-legal-system-cji-announces-remedial-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"President Kovind Laments Gross Delay In Legal System, CJI Announces Remedial Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hon\u2019ble President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed dismay at the fact that the Indian legal system is marked by long delays. He revealed that there is a backlog of 3.3 crore cases in various courts. Of these, 2.84 crore cases are in subordinate courts, 43 lakh in the High Courts &#038; about 58,000 in the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>The Hon\u2019ble President was addressing the National Conference organised by the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-5OrJWmMBYo\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Indian legal system is marked by long delays. There is a backlog of 3.3 crore cases in various courts of the country. Of these, 2.84 crore cases are in the subordinate courts. Another 43 lakh are in the High Courts and about 58,000 in the Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035775985889685504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There are many reasons for such delays. There are infrastructure gaps and considerable vacancies, particularly in subordinate courts. There is a culture of seeking adjournments as a norm rather than an exception. Judiciary is making efforts to curb this practice <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035776115460124672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In the past, it has been observed that governments and government agencies themselves were party to many cases of litigation. I must commend the government of India for making a sincere effort to reduce this number <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035776635767681024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Several remedial measures have been taken. Govt has enhanced threshold for filing appeals in tax disputes in tribunals and courts. <\/p>\n<p>In Supreme Court, the threshold has gone up from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Govt has also decided to withdraw many pending appeals <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035776973853712384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There has been a conscious rationalisation of tribunals. 36 identified tribunals have been merged to form 18 tribunals. This prevents overlapping of jurisdictions and provides greater clarity in ensuring early solutions and justice to aggrieved parties <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035777433608151040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Technology can be a great enabler of justice. A start was made in 2016 with the opening of India\u2019s first e-court in the High Court of Hyderabad. Since then, the idea of e-courts has spread elsewhere <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035778110241701888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Innovations such as evening courts and family courts, and the concerted effort made in delivery of speedy, fast-track judgements in cases of sexual crimes against women, are also noteworthy <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035778187744014338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On the path-way of the govt\u2019s Digital India initiative, the Legal Information Management and Briefing System (or LIMBS) has been introduced as an online mechanism to monitor and streamline court cases, and to reduce the government\u2019s own litigation <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035778590535647232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LIMBS attempts to bring all stakeholders \u2013 from Ministries to advocates to claimants and others \u2013 on the same platform. This will check delays and financial costs. So far 2.6 lakh court cases have been placed on this platform <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovnd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovnd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035779017561931776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-cards=\"hidden\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PresidentKovind<\/a> inaugurated National Conference being organised by the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association at New Delhi; expressed confidence that the entire legal fraternity will resolve not to seek adjournments except in absolutely unavoidable circumstances <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tR0XQDMIEj\">pic.twitter.com\/tR0XQDMIEj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rashtrapatibhvn\/status\/1035867364946980864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12210\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12210\" src=\"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Kovind-Dipak-Misra.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Kovind-Dipak-Misra.jpg 500w, https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Kovind-Dipak-Misra-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Kovind-Dipak-Misra-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Kovind-Dipak-Misra-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Kovind-Dipak-Misra-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Kovind-Dipak-Misra-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12210\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hon&#8217;ble CJI Dipak Misra with Hon&#8217;ble President Kovind<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Hon\u2019ble Dipak Misra, the Chief Justice of India, assured the distinguished audience that the problem of delays would be addressed on a war footing. <\/p>\n<p>He suggested that the problem of court congestion and delays requires a modern and progressive approach where every Judge takes the burden of judicial leadership and managerial skills of his court and the cases before him. <\/p>\n<h2> VALEDICTORY ADDRESS OF HON\u2019BLE SHRI DIPAK MISRA THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA FOR NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON \u2018INITIATIVES TO REDUCE PENDENCY AND DELAYS IN JUDICIAL SYSTEM\u2019 <\/h2>\n<p><em>Hon\u2019ble Shri Justice Ranjan Gogoi, my esteemed peers from the Supreme Court, Hon\u2019ble Shri Justice Madan B. Lokur and Hon\u2019ble Shri Justice Kurian Joseph, Hon\u2019ble Chief Justices of various High Courts, Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon, Prof. (Dr.) M.P. Singh, Prof. (Dr.) Manoj Kumar Sinha, Director, Indian Law Institute, Hon\u2019ble Judges from the High Courts and other delegates, Members of the Registry of the Supreme Court of India, Friends from the electronic and print media, Ladies and Gentlemen.<\/p>\n<p>The basic and fundamental right of access to justice, in the most fundamental sense, has been the core foundational purpose of this National Conference. All of us were required to reflect on certain aspects, especially our efforts towards reducing pendency and delays in the judicial system. <\/p>\n<p>I was present in the frst session and I have carefully perused the summary of the other technical sessions. The discussions and deliberations have been quite instructive. The broad points that have been discussed relate to:-<\/p>\n<p>Exploring the possibility of utilizing Court Managers;<\/p>\n<p>Chief Justice of the High Courts to study the aspects of<br \/>\nCourt and Case Management so that the same can be<br \/>\ninstitutionalized;<\/p>\n<p>Grouping of cases and introduction of a hybrid system where old cases are given priority and at the same time, new cases don\u2019t go into arrears;<\/p>\n<p>Utilizing of the tool of case management to deal with infructuous and non-alive cases;<\/p>\n<p>Dealing promptly with cases in which a stay has been granted by the High Courts.<\/p>\n<p>Laying focus on the grass root level, introduction of best practices in ADR system and emphasis on technological aspects was part of the discussion that took place in the Sessions today.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose was to share good practices and absorb them with a sense of objectivity. As I gather, there has been sharing.<\/p>\n<p>I may note that sharing of ideas is the moot factor of belonging.<\/p>\n<p>And here belonging means to be a part of great judicial fraternity with the avowed aim of speedy dispensation of quality justice. The discussions have ranged from the concept of \u2018case and court management system\u2019, \u2018methods of promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution\u2019, \u2018greater use of technology to endeavour to plug the gaps in justice delivery\u2019 by taking immediate appropriate measures of identifying the cases which need urgent attention and quick disposal. <\/p>\n<p>Many learned Chief Justices have spoken about the innovative steps they have undertaken. The efort and the consequent result deserve to be appreciated.<\/p>\n<p>I have also perused the strategy of reducing pendency in a phase wise manner especially pertaining to old cases and simultaneous dealing with litigations which are more than five years old. This is one of the very successful schemes to handle pendency and delays. It also brings with itself inherent checks and balances so that our judicial officers especially in the subordinate judiciary can execute the delay and pendency reduction scheme effectively in a time bound manner and be accountable for their work. <\/p>\n<p>This would not only help us in addressing the singular issue of delay and pendency but will enable us to set standards for judicial discipline vis-\u00e0-vis timely disposal of allocated cases. Separate standards are being worked out to assess the quality of judicial work. I am sure that the same will further enhance working at the subordinate judiciary level.<\/p>\n<p>I must say that E-Committee of the Supreme Court has been one of the most successful steps taken by the Indian judiciary. Since its creation way back in 2004, we have come a long way. It has led to computerization of the courts in India and fruitfully accentuated on technological communication and other management related issues.<\/p>\n<p>The deliberation in this conference has substantially focused on strengthening the promotion of methods of ADR for facilitating timely settlement of disputes and that too in a cost effective manner. <\/p>\n<p>However, I may add a caution, that never impose your views on mediation or settlement in Lok-Adalat and judicial settlement. We should never send a wrong message. I would like to say &#8211; be enthusiastic but never be obsessed. Perseverance and enthusiasm are to be distinguished from obsession with an idea.<\/p>\n<p>The court congestion and delays do require a modern and progressive approach where every Judge takes the burden of judicial leadership and managerial skills of his court and the cases before him. That will help the system in promptitude and I am certain, we will see the effective result.<\/p>\n<p>A compilation of thoughts, ideas and suggestions that have generated in all the sessions shall be prepared and circulated to all High Courts so that they can be followed pragmatically having due focus on the ground reality.<\/p>\n<p>I hope this national conference will help us improve upon our strategies, our plans, our focus, our targets, our energies and above all, our commitment towards the judicial system, its growth and strengthening of the same.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hon\u2019ble President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed dismay at the fact that the Indian legal system is marked by long delays. He revealed that there is a backlog of 3.3 crore cases in various courts. Of these, 2.84 crore cases are in subordinate courts, 43 lakh in the High Courts &#038; about 58,000 in the Supreme Court<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/president-kovind-laments-gross-delay-in-legal-system-cji-announces-remedial-measures\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-information","category-others","category-supreme-courthigh-court-related"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12207\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}