The Bombay High Court has directed the Chief Secretary to file an affidavit explaining the status of measures taken for enhancing the functioning of the judiciary,like providing E-library,staff and computer software. As part of an innovative programme,judges from courts around the state had been provided with laptops. The laptops did not have the software to carry out the judicial work rendering them useless for the intended purpose. The court recently directed the Chief Secretary to file an affidavit within six weeks. The Chief Secretary has been asked to reply as to why no legal software was provided with the laptops. He was also told to file a reply on the status of E-Library,infrastructure,staff and other issues, said Central Government lawyer Rithuja Ambekar. Ambekar states that the Central government provides the required funds,but it is up to the state government to execute and implement the schemes. The court gave the direction while hearing a PIL filed by senior lawyer M P Vashi,seeking an increase in number of High Court judges,appointing more women and ad-hoc judges and enhancement in infrastructure in subordinate courts. The Law and Judiciary department of the government has also admitted that pending cases in subordinate courts in the state had gone up. As on December 31,2008,the pendency in subordinate courts has gone upto 41,38,766, principal secretary (law and judiciary) M N Gilani had said in an affidavit filed in response to the PIL. It is true that in the subordinate courts in the state of Maharashtra,pendency has reached alarming figure, the affidavit says. In the PIL,Vashi is seeking an increase in number of High Court judges,appointment of more women and ad-hoc judges and enhancement in infrastructure of subordinate courts. Gilani had said that in the last four years,over 300 additional posts of judicial officers in subordinate courts have been sanctioned.
