Amaravati: Voicing concern over the pendency of cases and vacancies of judges, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Sunday said the twin factors have made the judicial dispensation system extremely vulnerable. Inaugurating an interim building of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and laying the foundation stone for a permanent structure here, the CJI indicated the problem was imminently solvable and urged judges to take a solemn pledge to take the system forward.
He said the pendency figures of three crore cases were alarming but pointed out that 81 lakh cases were just about one year old. “When you file the case, by the time it gets ready it takes little time. Therefore, 81 lakh cases which are less than one year old really cannot be said to be pending,” said the CJI, reports PTI.
Gogoi said 50 lakh cases out of the three crore were petty cases like breach of the Motor Vehicles Act, Weights and Measures Act and small violations of the excise law which call for the imposition of a token fine. “I appeal to the Chief Justices of the high courts to give a thought on how best we can deal with these 50 lakh cases.”
He termed as ‘worrisome and troublesome’ the figure of 25 lakh cases which were 10 years old. “This is not a good sign. I think some serious reflection on this is necessary. There is no way to deal with this except for an utmost degree of commitment and devotion to see that these 25 lakh cases, which are black spots on the judiciary, are wiped out as quickly as possible.” The Chief Justice said there were 392 vacancies of high court judges but the high courts of the country had not made recommendations for 270 posts.
