Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday demanded that more fast-track courts (FTCs) be set up to ensure speedy justice delivery in various states. Speaking at a conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers here, Modi said: “I request the Union Government to rethink on re-establishment of the system of fast-track courts and increase financial allocation for the same.”
He said Gujarat had initiated 166 FTCs, which had disposed of nearly four lakh cases. He said policies concerning the judicial system should be planned “with a long-term perspective”. “Short-term vision and frequent changes in policy create a lack of faith in the system,” he added.
A day after he launched a scathing attack on the Congress in Ahmedabad, Modi was seen amiably greeting Congress Chief Ministers Virbhadra Singh, Prithviraj Chavan and Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Modi recalled that on earlier occasions, he had made suggestions regarding setting up of evening courts, extension of working hours in a week and cutting down of vacation period. Some of them were considered and implemented first in Gujarat. Evening courts were set up first in Gujarat in 2006 and the functioning of the same has been highly satisfactory, he added.
The Gujarat CM suggested creation of a separate non-judicial management cadre for the administration of court affairs that would help judicial officers to concentrate on judicial functions.
Modi also stressed on the use of Information Technology and computerisation of courts. In the last five years, Gujarat had invested heavily in computerisation of courts. “The Gujarat High Court is fully computerised; many of the district courts are computerised and most of them are part of the Gujarat State Wide Area Network.