Recently, Delhi
witnessed large scale protests by various groups demanding stricter punishment
and speedier trial in cases of sexual assault against women. In light of the
protests, the central government has constituted a Commission
(headed by Justice Verma) to suggest possible amendments in the
criminal law to ensure speedier disposal of cases relating to sexual assault.
Though the Supreme Court, in 1986, had recognised speedy trial to be a fundamental
right, India continues to have a high number of pending cases.
In 2012, the net
pendency in High Courts and subordinate courts
decreased by over 6 lakh cases. However, there is still a substantial backlog
of cases across various courts in the country. As per the latest information
given by the Ministry of Law and Justice, there are 43.2 lakh cases pending in the
High Courts and 2.69
crore cases pending in the district courts.[1]
After the recent
gang-rape of a 23 year old girl, the Delhi
High Court directed the state government to
establish five Fast Track Courts (FTCs) for the expeditious adjudication of
cases relating to sexual assault. According to a news
report, other states such as Maharashtra and
Tamil Nadu have also begun the process of establishing FTCs for rape cases. In
this blog, we look at the status of pending cases in various courts in the
country, the number of vacancies of judges and the status of FTCs in the
country.
Vacancies in the High Courts and
the Subordinate Courts
One of the reasons for
the long delay in the disposal of cases is the high number of vacancies in
position for judges in the High Courts and the District Courts of the country.
As of December
1, 2012, the working strength of the High Court
judges was 613 as against the sanctioned strength of 895 judges. This reflects
a 32% vacancy of judges across various High Courts in the country. The highest
number of vacancies is in the Allahabad High Court with a working strength of
86 judges against the sanctioned strength of 160 judges (i.e. vacancy of 74
judges). The situation is not much better at the subordinate level. As on September
30, 2011, the sanctioned strength of judges at the subordinate level was
18,123 judges as against a working strength of 14,287 judges (i.e. 21%
vacancy). The highest vacancy is in Gujarat with 794 vacancies of judges,
followed by Bihar with 690 vacancies.
Fast Track Courts
The 11th Finance
Commission had recommended a scheme for the
establishment of 1734 FTCs for the expeditious disposal of cases pending in the
lower courts. In this regard, the Commission had allocated Rs 500 crore. FTCs
were to be established by the state governments in consultation with the
respective High Courts. An average of five FTCs were to be established in each district
of the country. The judges for these FTCs were appointed on an adhoc basis. The
judges were selected by the High Courts of the respective states. There are
primarily three sources of recruitment. First, by promoting members from
amongst the eligible judicial officers; second, by appointing retired High
Court judges and third, from amongst members of the Bar of the respective state.
FTCs were initially
established for a period of five years (2000-2005). However, in 2005, the
Supreme Court[2]
directed the central government to continue with the FTC scheme, which was extended
until 2010-2011. The government discontinued the FTC scheme in March 2011.
Though the central government stopped giving financial assistance to the states
for establishing FTCs, the state governments could establish FTCs from their
own funds. The decision of the central government not to finance the FTCs
beyond 2011 was challenged in the Supreme Court. In 2012, the Court upheld the
decision of the central government.[3] It held that the state governments have the liberty to decide
whether they want to continue with the scheme or not. However, if they decide
to continue then the FTCs have to be made a permanent feature.
As of September 3, 2012,
some states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala decided to continue with the FTC scheme. However, some states such as
Haryana and Chhattisgarh decided to discontinue it. Other states such as Delhi
and Karnataka have decided to continue the FTC scheme only till 2013.[4]
Table 1: Number of Fast Track
Courts and the pending cases in FTCs (As on March 31, 2011)
|
State
|
No of FTC
|
No of cases transferred until
March 31, 2011
|
Pending cases
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
3
|
4,162
|
2,502
|
|
Bihar`
|
179
|
2,39,278
|
80,173
|
|
Assam
|
20
|
72,191
|
16,380
|
|
West Bengal
|
109
|
1,46,083
|
32,180
|
|
Goa
|
5
|
5,096
|
1,079
|
|
Punjab
|
15
|
58,570
|
12,223
|
|
Jharkhand
|
38
|
1,10,027
|
22,238
|
|
Gujarat
|
61
|
5,37.636
|
1,03,340
|
|
Chattisgarh
|
25
|
9,4670
|
18,095
|
|
Meghalaya
|
3
|
1,031
|
188
|
|
Rajasthan
|
83
|
1,49,447
|
26,423
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
9
|
40,126
|
6,699
|
|
Karnataka
|
87
|
2,18,402
|
34,335
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
108
|
2,36,928
|
36,975
|
|
Nagaland
|
2
|
845
|
129
|
|
Kerala
|
38
|
1,09,160
|
13,793
|
|
Mizoram
|
3
|
18,68
|
233
|
|
Haryana
|
6
|
38,359
|
4,769
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
84
|
3,60,602
|
43,239
|
|
UP
|
153
|
4,64,775
|
53,117
|
|
Maharashtra
|
51
|
4,23,518
|
41,899
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
49
|
4,11,957
|
40,621
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
20
|
98,797
|
9006
|
|
Orissa
|
35
|
66,199
|
5,758
|
|
Manipur
|
2
|
3,059
|
198
|
|
Tripura
|
3
|
5,812
|
221
|
|
Total
|
1192
|
3898598
|
6,05,813
|
Sources: Lok Sabha
Unstarred Question No.498, March 3, 2012; PRS
[1]. Rajya Sabha Starred Question no 231 dated December 10, 2012.
[2]. Brij Mohan Lal v Union of India (2005) 3 SCR 103.
[3]. Brij Mohan Lal v Union of India (2012) 6 SCC 502.
[4]. Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question no 2388 dated September 3, 2012
