2 min readNew DelhiAug 13, 2009 05:21 AM IST
First published on: Aug 13, 2009 at 05:21 AM IST
Demand for more budgetary allocation for the judiciary,especially for the trial courts and the high courts,on account of heavy docket explosion owing to Central statutes,will figure prominently in the forthcoming meet of the chief justices at a two-day conference at the end of the week. The conference will culminate with a meeting of the chief justices of high courts and the chief ministers of states. Observing that the Union government is not doing enough to contain the rise in litigation arising out of Central acts at the lower judiciary level,the Supreme Court is all set to ask for more funds from the Centre for meeting the expenditure of the state courts.
In terms of GNP,the expenditure on judiciary in India is 0.2 per cent,whereas it is 1.2 per cent in Singapore,1.4 per cent in the US and 4.3 per cent in the UK.
The apex court deplored that while there is meagre allocation of funds by states and UTs to their respective high courts and subordinate judiciary,it’s the Central laws that “contribute to more than 50 to 60 per cent of the litigation in the trial courts”.
Pointing to few of the several statutes like the Indian Penal Code,Code of Civil Procedure,Code of Criminal Procedure,Transfer of Property Act,Contract Act,Sale of Goods Act,Negotiable Instruments Act,the apex court assessed that the number of Central laws which create rights and offences to be adjudicated in the subordinate courts are about 340. These are Central enactments,but administered by the courts which are established by the state governments.
Reminding the UPA government of Article 247 of the Constitution,the apex court,led by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan,will ask the Centre to bear the “recurring and non-recurring expenditure of the state courts to the extent the courts spend time to adjudicate disputes arising out of central statutes”. Article 247 enables Union Government to establish additional courts for better administration of laws made by Parliament or of any existing law with respect to a matter enumerated in the Union list.
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