STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: It is said that justice delayed is justice denied. In various courts of Assam, there are 55,854 cases which have been pending for 5-10 years while there are 7,411 cases that are pending for more than 10 years. And if we take into consideration cases which are pending for less than 5 years, the number will be huge!
According to legal experts, the cases pending in the courts of Assam broadly fall under three categories - land disputes, job and promotion related, and trade and business-related. Also, among the pending cases, in more than 10,000 cases the Government of India is a litigant. There are around 3,000 POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases pending in the courts.
The problem of pendency in the courts is a major concern. Last year, the Assam Government decided that petty criminal cases pending in subordinate courts throughout the State would be withdrawn by invoking Section 321 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973. When this happens, around 86,000 cases will be withdrawn. The process of withdrawal of petty cases is underway. The Assam Government took this decision to reduce the backlog of cases so that courts could devote time for serious cases.
Kamrup (metro) tops the list among the districts of Assam with 12,846 cases pending for 5-10 years, followed by Cachar with 6,115 cases and Nagaon with 5,974 cases. Majuli has the least number of pending cases (1), followed by Hojai with three cases.
Kamrup (metro) also tops the list with 2,200 cases pending for more than 10 years, followed by Cachar with 1,545 cases and Nagaon with 499 cases. Hojai and Majuli have no such pending case while the West Karbi Anglong district has 11 cases and Charaideo district has only two such cases.
A senior advocate said that one of the main reasons for pendency is the shortage of judges. "It is about time that the number of judges of the Gauhati High Court should be increased. Subordinate courts have poor legal infrastructure as they have to grapple with shortage of judges and staff. Because of these lacunae, judges find it difficult to work in the district and lower courts," he said. The advocate further said that in the UK, a judge disposes of three to four cases a day. In India, a judge presides over 40-50 cases daily on average.
There is a huge workload on the judges which leads to delay in the disposal of cases. After a hearing in a case, the date scheduled for the next hearing is usually after 1-2 months. Cases get stretched for a long period and this only leads to frustration among litigants and burns a hole in their pockets. Pendency leads to a lack of faith among people in the judicial system and steps must be taken to ensure that justice is delivered to people on time.
Sources said that as per the Gauhati High Court's action plan to reduce pendency in notified order no.24 dated April 24, 2013, the lower courts must dispose of pending cases while the Gauhati High Court's arrear committee will regularly monitor old cases.
Also Watch: