With over 31 million cases pending in Indian Courts, the Government is talking business. At a two-day conference organized by the Law Ministry on National Consultation for Strengthening the Judiciary Towards Reducing Pendency and Delays, they made clear their intention of not only shedding the tag of being the largest litigant in the country, but also improving the efficiency of the judiciary.  

At the conference, the Law Ministry presented its Vision Statement, enumerating a scheme intended to chew up the seemingly insurmountable numbers and bring down the average pendency of a case to 3 years from the present 15 before the end of 2011.

If the proposals from the Vision Statement are implemented, we may soon see appointment of retired judges and senior lawyers on a contract basis adjudicating matters in shifts up to midnight. Other proposals include appointing 15,000 trial court judges and 700 high court judges on a contract basis, setting up an efficient classification of cases, and working on the Information and Communication Technology system on a global model.

Law Minister Veerappa Moily also proposed a National Litigation Policy which will underline the circumstances under which the government at the central and state level can approach the court. The government is India's biggest litigator, with a large percentage of the pending cases being filed by them.  

The Vision Statement also proposes a National Arrear Grid specifically to monitor pending cases and suggest remedies to reduce time taken for adjudication.

Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice S.H. Kapadia are in favor of hiking the court fees payable in commercial disputes, and subsidising the justice delivery system for the common man. Moily added that they would introduce a Bill in Parliament for establishing commercial courts in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Emphasizing the quick delivery of justice, Justice Kapadia took the view that the delays, and consequent additional costs, have impacted FDI inflow into the country. Agreeing with Justice Kapadia, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also attended the program, said, "States which have ensured smooth law on land acquisition and enforcement of law, have attracted FDI more than other states."

Moily also called for the collegium to work with the Government for appointing judges. "The government and the collegium should work hand in hand while appointing judges, so that the difference between the two does not lead to delay in appointment. The government should also be given the power to suggest outstanding lawyers and jurists as judges," he added.

Trial courts have a sanctioned strength of 16,721 judges, and there are 27 million cases pending with the trial courts. The high courts have a collective sanctioned strength of 886 judges, and have 4 million (40 lakh) pending cases. The Supreme Court has more than 50,000 pending cases and has a sanctioned strength of 31 judges. A progress report on the Vision Statement is to be submitted to the Prime Minister on Jan 31, 2010.