A Plea has been filed by a final year law student, Shrikant Prasad in the Supreme Court, seeking formal guidelines and rule of procedures for the appointment of judges within the time-bound duration highlighting 3.5 crore pending cases in Subordinates Courts in India.
Contentions in the Plea
The petition further stated that the delay in the administration of justice causes mental harassment to both victims and accused, and amounts to denial of Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution
About 3.5 crore cases are pending in Indian District Courts, out of which about 2.5 crore cases are of criminal nature and about 56,000 cases pending since more than 30years.
The petition identifies that the primary reason behind such delay in justice is lack of Judges & corresponding Staff in subordinate Courts. As per a report published by the Supreme Court, the subordinate judiciary requires more than 5,000 courtrooms to accommodate more than 20,000 judicial officers.
The Plea stated that there is also a need to fill more than 40,000 staff positions, which have been lying vacant for many years.
Prayer
The Petitioner has urged the Court to direct the concerned authorities to fill the vacant posts of subordinate courts and also increase the number of Judges in proportion laid down in All India Judges Association & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., 2002 SC 247.
Further, the Petitioner has suggested that the Supreme Court and the High Court may, in exercise of their powers under Article 127 of the Constitution, appoint effective and efficient Judges as AD-HOC Judges.
The Plea further sought directions to look into matter of improperly maintained infrastructures of Subordinate Courts.
