NEW DELHI: To reduce the pendency of cases, Chief Justice of India T S Thakur has issued a directive categorising the types of cases the courts would be taking during the summer vacation.
From May 16, the Supreme Court will head for a summer vacation and will continue till June 30. According to the notification, cases which need to be moved before the vacation court should be accompanied by an affidavit, indicating all the material facts necessary for the formation of opinion about its urgency. The judges work for 200 days in a year.
“No matter shall be entertained and considered for listing before the vacation Judges unless it is accompanied by such an affidavit, which is sufficient to indicate the urgency,” the notification reads.
COURT OF DELAY
Pending cases: 3.2 crore
Pendency in SC: 67,000
Pendency in HCs: 50 lakh
The CJI has also requested the registry to find out pending cases for 10 years and list them during the vacation time. Justice T S Thakur has also requested the Supreme Court Bar Association to talk to lawyers and see if they can appear in cases during vacations so that pendency can come down.
Taking cue from the Chief Justice’s conference last month, Chief Justices of Madhya Pradesh High Court and Jharkhand High Court have decided to dispose of pending appeals. Over 50 lakh cases are yet to be heard in high courts, of which around six lakh cases are pending for over a decade.
High Courts of Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Allahabad and Jharkhand have agreed to take up old cases, which are ready for hearing, during the summer vacation.