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CEC Rajiv Kumar on Monday lamented that hearing of long-pending cases questioning electoral processes "fuel distrust" that petitioners intend to create and said it would be good if such proceedings are scheduled with due consideration to the election period. "This is a specific expectation of India's esteemed constitutional courts (the Supreme Court and 25 high courts)," Kumar, who demits office on February 18, said in his farewell address. He also said that the Election Commission remains steadfast in its commitment to addressing concerns surrounding unchecked freebies and overpromising manifestos. "While the matter related to freebies is currently sub-judice, and I hope for a timely decision from the court, it is imperative in the interim that political promises are backed by clear disclosures on their financial viability and their effect on the fiscal health of the state," he said. Kumar also stressed the need to have a totaliser system to ensure confidentiality in polling ...
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday directed officials to formulate a comprehensive policy for employment on compassionate grounds and said his government intends to settle all pending cases. Chairing a high-level meeting, he asked the officials to compile and present data like the department, age and educational qualification of the applicants seeking employment on compassionate grounds, a statement said. The state government is adopting a "liberal and sympathetic" approach to offer employment in the government sector to those who lost their family members during service, he said and instructed the officers to come up with the requisite data in the next meeting on January 10. The government is committed to supporting the well-being of dependents by giving preference to widows and orphans in providing employment on compassionate grounds, he said and added that various aspects would be viewed to benefit the maximum number of applicants. Sukhu said that
There are nearly 62 thousand cases pending in various high courts, which are more than 30 years old, including three awaiting disposal since 1952. According to official data, there are four cases pending since 1954 and nine since 1955 in high courts. Out of the three cases pending since 1952, two are in the Calcutta High Court and one in the Madras High Court. Addressing the national conference of district judiciary here earlier this week, President Droupadi Murmu had called for a change in the "culture of adjournments' in the judiciary. She said long-standing pendency and backlog of cases is a big challenge before the judiciary. "All stakeholders have to find a solution by giving priority to this problem," she said. As many as 58.59 lakh cases, including 42.64 lakh of civil nature and 15.94 lakh of criminal nature, are pending across high courts. According to the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), nearly 2.45 lakh cases are pending in high courts which are 20 to 30 years ...
Over five crore cases are pending in various courts of the country, including 80,000 in the Supreme Court, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said as of December 1, out of the 5,08,85,856 pending cases, over 61 lakh were at the level of the 25 high courts. The district and subordinate courts accounted for over 4.46 crore cases, he said. The minister also noted that the overall sanctioned strength of the Indian judiciary was 26,568 judges. While the sanctioned strength of the top court is 34 judges, 1,114 is the sanctioned strength of the high courts. The district and subordinate courts have a sanctioned strength of 25,420 judges.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday stressed the need for speedy disposal of the cases of government departments pending in various courts, and directed officials to create a panel of noted advocates for the purpose. Speedy disposal of pending cases of government departments in various courts of the state is very necessary as this affects the work of the departments, he said. In view of this, the chief minister asked officials to create a panel of expert advocates, in addition to government advocates, and appoint them for effective handling of the matters in courts. Adityanath, who reviewed the working of the Justice Department, also asked for fixing a fee for these advocates, according to an official release. The chief minister said that a strong judicial system is the basis of good governance. "In view of this, encourage Gram Nyayalayas. It should be our priority to get affordable, simple, accessible, and quick justice to the common man at the tehsil level .
Citing 1,350 cases pending disposal for more than 10 years, a Parliamentary committee has asked the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to decide them on a priority basis, specifically the ones related to pensions and senior citizens. The tribunal adjudicates service matters of central government employees. As many as 80,545 cases are pending in different benches of the tribunal as on December 31, 2022. Of these, 16,661 cases are pending for zero to one year, 46,534 for one to five years, 16,000 for five to 10 years and 1,350 for more than 10 years, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said in its report. The panel said according to the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, every application should be heard and decided as far as possible, within six months from the date of its registration. "However, the Committee notes that there are about 1,350 cases pending for over ten years. The Committee