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Judicial infrastructure plan to figure at meet

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate here on Saturday a conference of Chief Ministers of the States and Chief Justices of High Courts on judicial reforms.

The meet, among other things, will discuss a National Judicial Infrastructure Plan prepared by the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal for upgrading judicial infrastructure to enable access to justice for even the lower strata.

The plan proposes new initiatives such as fast track courts, second shift in existing courts, and uniform practices and procedures, aimed at reduction of delays and overcrowding.

A note prepared for the meet points to the meagre amount of Rs. 385 crore allocated for the judiciary in the Ninth Plan (1997-2000), which just amounts to 0.071 per cent of the total expenditure of Rs. 5,41,207 crore. During the Tenth Plan (2002-2007), the allocation was Rs. 700 crore, 0.078 per cent of the total plan outlay of Rs.8, 93, 183 crores.

Such meagre allocations are grossly inadequate to meet the requirements of the judiciary, the note says. It points out that unlike in other departments of the Government, more than half of the amount spent on the judiciary is raised from the judiciary itself through collection of court fees, stamp duty and miscellaneous matters.

The governments should provide adequate funds at the disposal of the High Courts for augmenting infrastructure, it says.

On video conferencing in criminal cases, the note says, it is not uncommon for the criminal cases getting adjourned on account of inability of the police or jail authorities to produce the accused in court. Sometimes the witnesses are residing at far off places or even abroad. It is not convenient for them to attend the court. Video conferencing is a convenient, secure and less expensive option, for not only extending the remand of the accused but also for recording evidence, it points out.

Expressing concern over the delay in disposal of cases, it says “the delay in the disposal of cases has affected not only the ordinary type of cases but also those which by their very nature, call for early relief. The problem of delay and huge arrears stares at us and unless we can do something about it, the whole system would get crushed under its weight.”

“We must guard against the system getting discredited and people losing faith in it and taking recourse to extra legal remedies with all the sinister potentialities. The Governments should not allow their financial constraints to come in the way of increase in the strength of judges,” the note says.

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