Excessive adjournments delaying justice delivery,says Ansari

Ansari also pointed out that the long-winding oral arguments by counsels and delay in the filling up the vacancies of the judges were the other causes for delay in justice delivery.

“Let us all say no to excessive adjournments,say to no long winded oral arguments,say no to delay in filling up vacancies of judges,and discourage,even penalise compulsive litigation tendencies,whether of the state or citizens’’.

Ansari pointed out that a total of 56,000 cases were pending in the Supreme Court out of which 36,000 cases were more than one year old. The total number of pending cases in the High Court and subordinate courts was around 3.2 crore as on December 31,2010 and around 85 lakhs cases were more than five year old.

The entire chain of subordinate judiciary must be subjected to an overhaul and renewal,he added.

Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court Jaynarayan Patel also put emphasis to clear pending cases,which,he said,have reached 3.5 lakh.

Justice Patel pointed out that about 60,000 cases were cleared every year against the 80,000 cases filed in the High Court each year. So,the main task is to clear the backlog,he added.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pointed out the difficulties of advocates. In the subordinate courts. The advocates sit under the trees and still have no social security,she said.

The government was thinking of introducing a group insurance scheme and housing projects for them,Banerjee said,adding that the new government has filled the vacancies at the level of district judges in the last 11 years.

Union Law and Justice minister Salman Khurshid said the government has taken up a project to set up rural courts at the panchayat level to reach justice to the poor,he said.

Khurshid said the ministry has already sent a proposal to the Calcutta High Court to set up an e-court project for paperless work.

During the inauguration of the sesquicentennial celebration,organised at Netaji Indoor Stadium today,judges of the Supreme Court and retired judges of the Calcutta High Court were also present.

The Calcutta High Court was established on July 1,1862 under the High Court’s Act 1861 passed in the British Parliament.