Govt mobilizes National Law Universities to target criminal case backlogs

New Delhi, Oct 14: In a significant move to address the issue of pendency of cases at the District and Subordinate Judiciary, the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, has decided to take action in a focused manner by identifying hotspot districts where such cases are in large number.
Accordingly, under the guidance of Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, the department has initiated a nationwide, research-based mission targeting the top 100 judicial districts with high litigation pendency. Over 5.8 crore cases are pending across courts in the country, of which the majority are in district and subordinate courts. Further, those identified 100 districts account for over half of all district-court pendency.
Accordingly, under this initiative, a meeting was convened with Vice Chancellors of nineteen National Law Universities of sixteen states. The meeting was convened through video conferencing. It was chaired by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Secretary, Department of Justice, the Director General (Awards), the Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), the Director General, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and other officials attended the meeting physically.
During the discussions, various alternatives like identifying infructuous cases, case profiling, alternative dispute resolution, management of adjournments, plea bargaining, mediation assisted settlements, bringing summary trial process etc. were deliberated upon. It was also highlighted to the NLUs that they may effectively utilize their pro bono clubs, researchers and students to carry out the ground level analysis of case pendency in the selected districts and suggest possible strategies to address the issue. As the way forward, NLUs were requested to develop focused approach for the 100 districts, based on district-specific diagnosis and identify the main causes of delay. They were also requested to suggest feasible mechanism to reduce litigation pendency. All the Vice Chancellors of NLUs have assured their active participation and their willingness to serve the Nation.
Arjun Ram Meghwal summed up by reiterating the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Viksit Bharat @2047, for which an accessible, efficient, cost effective, fair, speedy and responsive justice delivery system is essential.