THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: More than 14.75 lakh cases were pending in the Kerala High Court and various lower courts in the state, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy informed the Assembly on Monday.
In the High Court alone, 1,47,866 cases were pending and in the lower courts, 13,27,828 cases, Chandy said in a written reply.
For settling those cases, various mechanisms, such as special list system, unit system and target fixation, were being followed.
Priority was being given to old cases, cases involving the elderly, under-trial prisoners and marginalised sections of society, the Chief Minister said.
With funds allotted under the 13th Finance Commission, 27 temporary Judicial First Class Magistrate Courts had been set up with posts. Also special courts had been started to handle crimes of a sexual nature against women and children and crimes against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, Chandy said.
In addition to those facilities, the High Court and the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) were also conducting adalats to settle pending cases, the Chief Minister added.
As many as 2.64 crore cases had been pending in various courts across the country, Union Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda had said during a recent visit to Thiruvananthapuram.