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Chief Justice calls for categorisation of cases for speedy disposal

CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mr. Justice Vijender Jain on Sunday called for categorisation of cases, quick availability of documents to the litigants and lawyers, support of Court staff and its registry to speed up the justice delivery system and effective court management.

Mr. Justice Vijender Jain inaugurated the first-ever conclave of judicial officers at Panchkula near here which was attended by judicial officers from the subordinate judiciary and the higher judicial services of Punjab and Haryana, besides the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

He said that categorisation of cases involving similar issues particularly relating to mass litigation such as land acquisition or income tax if dealt in one group would go a long way in effectively dealing of cases.

He added that good court management practice required that information pertaining to a case was timely and readily made available to the lawyers or litigants. There should be no cause for the litigants to complain against non- availability of documents relating to the certified copies of an order or the decree-sheets. If for some reason, these documents were not available, information in this respect could be disseminated through the internet or an interactive voice response (IVR) mechanism.

While admitting that the efficiency of the Courts depended upon staff and the Registry as they were the backbone of the system, he said that there should be “strict vigil on them” so that any act done by an individual should not tarnish the image of the judiciary as a whole.

He said the subordinate judicial officers could perform miscellaneous tasks including identification of issues, attempt to limit disputes arising out of pleadings and actively participating in alternative dispute resolution system. This would make them participative functionaries in the overall processing of dispensing quick justice, he added.

Mr.Justice Jain also emphasized the need for an efficient and transparent legal system. Quick settlement of disputes

especially in economic and commercial transactions was necessary for free economy.

He disclosed that despite addressing delay in justice at innumerable stages, nearly 30 million cases were pending in various courts all over the country and this figure for a population of 1,400 million was “exorbitantly large”. He called for immediately checking this trend otherwise the pendency rate was likely to go up further in the context of rising population.

He said that while intensive and extensive studies of the problems faced by the judiciary had been carried out yet no effective grassroots solution had come about. Giving an example, he said that the Criminal Procedure Code had been overhauled and several tribunals had been set up to provide quick, informal and inexpensive remedies to the litigants.

The attempts at managing judicial system had tended to be isolated and sporadic, without looking at the overall picture. Consequently, “the legislative changes have only a cosmetic effect and do not become part of the solution”. “What is required is a CT-scan to find a unified and cohesive solution taking into account the hard realities of the litigation at various levels,” he added.

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