New Delhi: Over 11,000 "matters" are pending before the Supreme Court for over 10 years, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Similarly, in the 25 high courts, 8.77 lakh civil and 3.74 lakh criminal cases are pending for more than 10 years, he said citing data from the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).
In the district and subordinate courts, 6.91 lakh civil and 27.26 lakh criminal cases are pending for over a decade, the minister said.
"As per information received from the Supreme Court of India, the number of matters pending for more than 10 years is 11,049," Rijiju said in a written reply.
In order to expedite the trial of court cases, a number of legislative changes have been made in procedural laws, which include provisions for limiting adjournments of court proceedings in criminal and civil matters, he said.
"The government has adopted a coordinated approach to assist the judiciary for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial systems, which, inter alia, involves better infrastructure for courts, including computerisation, increase in the strength of judicial officers and judges, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, and emphasis on human resource development," Rijiju said.
