Pendency, budget, success stories: What does the Orissa High Court's annual report say?

The Orissa High Court recently released an annual report which included a detailed performance evaluation of the High Court and the State's lower judiciary. .The 312-page report also delved into the challenges faced as well as initiatives taken by the High Court in the recent past..The report is divided into several parts, covering information about the High Court and its allied organs including law officers and the Bar, performance of 30 district courts in the State and significant judgments delivered by the High Court in 2021.“It is our constant endeavor to make the judicial institutions in Odisha more accessible, inclusive, transparent and accountable,” Chief Justice S Muralidhar said in the report..The annual report, comprising financial details along with a performance assessment of the High Court and its allied institutions, was an initiative to make judicial services in the State more inclusive, transparent and accountable, the report highlighted..The report dealt extensively with challenges faced due to which the performance of the State's judiciary fell short of expectations. These are discussed in a chapter titled 'Introspection & Challenges'.The five aspects discussed in the chapter are summarised below:.1. Docket Explosion.The report explained that the greatest challenge faced by the judiciary, without a doubt, was the increase in pendency of cases.As per the figures reflected, pendency in the High Court rose from 1,73,510 cases to 1,97,119 cases at the end of the year. Whereas, in district courts 15,92,250 cases were pending in the beginning of the year, which rose to 17,89,677.It was also disclosed that at the beginning of the year, 12,236 cases were 25 years old and at the end of the year, the figure fell to 9,540 cases. Further, it it detailed that 305 cases were 40 years old, and the number fell to 164 by the end of the year. .Pertinently, the report highlighted that the major cause for such pendency in district courts was the operation of stay orders by higher courts. In light of this, all district court judges were impressed on by the Chief Justice to adopt case-management methods for old cases and to follow them up on a regular basis..2. Criminal Cases.The report discussed four primary reasons for pendency of criminal cases. - Long abscondence of accused persons in criminal trials led to an inability to execute warrants, and thus, trials are not concluded. - When official witnesses such as the medical officer or investigating officer are either transferred or retired, their whereabouts are difficult to be ascertained.- Petty cases that can be disposed of on payment of fine are found to remain pending for years together, primarily due because lack of attention by the Presiding Officer. - When surety for release of persons on bail do not appear. .3. Civil Cases.Similarly, five reasons were enumerated for pendency of civil cases:- Difficulty in effecting personal service of summons issued by the court due to several reasons as a result of which trial of the suit gets delayed.- Non-availability of a salaried amin (court official), due to which existing amin has to discharge the duties of adjoining districts as well.- Execution cases remain pending for long periods since decree-holder does not take steps, properties not ascertained by judgment-debtor and presiding officers not paying adequate attention.- Deceased parties are not substituted in time. - Interlocutory applications remain pending due to which main suit cannot be disposed. .4. Loss of Working Days.As per the report, the two major reasons for loss of working days were the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns as well as abstention from court work by the local bar associations on various issues, which caused an average loss of 15.69 working days..5. Judge-Population Ratio.The judge-population ratio is poor in Odisha, as it is in the entire country, the report flagged. It detailed that the ratio is 20.52, as compared to the national average of 21.03..The report also exercised transparency in terms of budget allocation by the High Court, sharing details of expenditure that were prioritised in 2021. - ₹74,71,73,000 was approved by the High Court for the execution of projects under the State Sector Scheme (projects entirely funded by the State government). It was highlighted that priority was given to providing funds for completion of ongoing projects.- ₹4,52,47,300 was allocated for maintenance of residential buildings of judges, staff quarters etc. - ₹23,11,62,000 was directed towards upgrading existing infrastructure of the High Court. - ₹125,52,89,000 was allocated to the High Court's administrative expenses, of which ₹62,80,42,000 was spent by December 31, 2021. Out of this amount, ₹50,76,99,000 was spent on salaries and allowances, ₹2,14,81,000 on electricity charges, ₹1,72,59,000 on telephone charges, ₹85,67,000 on purchase and maintenance of vehicles, ₹1,74,33,000 on computer upgradation and maintenance and ₹5,56,03,000 on other contingencies..While the report dealt extensively with areas that required improvement on the High Court's part, the initiatives taken by the legal services authorities were highlighted. Discussing "success stories", the report shed light on instances where various District Legal Services Authorities aided in payment of wages to labourers, took steps for proper cremation of COVID-19 victims, provided shelter for the needy, rescued people in distress, aided in releasing wages to migrant labourers, and other similar activities. .View the report here.