An official report states that after the Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS) was put into place in 2017, the disposal rate has reached its greatest point.
This year, the court has implemented several changes to enhance its case-handling procedures. There are now 19 cases pending before five-judge constitution benches, down from 36 previously. However, there are significant matters that are pending before the benches of seven and nine judges.
While decisions have been made in some significant issues, such as the one concerning Article 370, in other cases, such as those concerning electoral bonds and young women’s access to the Sabarimala shrine, decisions are anticipated in other cases.
Source: Newslaundry
Technology has been employed by the court to expedite the resolution of cases. Reforms such as cutting the 10-day verification and listing period in half to seven days have aided in the prompt resolution of cases.
A day was spent processing and listing cases pertaining to personal liberty, such as bail, habeas corpus, eviction, and demolition. These discussions were continued over the summer break. The procedure was streamlined by the creation of specialized benches to handle specific case types.
Additional actions included establishing an RTI portal, a hybrid hearing system, and the e-SCR (Supreme Court Reports), which provides online access to court rulings. The court’s connection to the National Judicial Data Grid has made it easier to track cases in real time.
Source: CNBC- TV 18
Although these actions are commendable, the number of cases pending in the court system has actually gone up overall. Parliament received evidence indicating that there are now over five crore cases awaiting resolution. The issue is particularly severe in district and subordinate courts, as well as High Courts, where as of July of this year, there were over 4.4 crore and over six lakh pending cases, respectively. More often than not, cases from lower courts affect regular people, not as much as those from the Supreme Court.
The primary causes of this significant backlog include the lack of judges and staff, inadequate facilities, issues with procedural law, numerous adjournments, etc. “The government has no direct role in the disposal of pending cases in courts; it is the purview of the judiciary,” stated Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. But establishing the framework for the prompt administration of justice requires the backing of the government. It should establish infrastructure, appoint a sufficient number of judges on schedule, and possibly cut down on internal court litigation.
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