Committees set up in all distts to furnish monthly progress report
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 9: Concerned over huge pendency in all the courts across Jammu and Kashmir, State High Court has chalked out an Action Plan for disposal of maximum cases by March 2019 and even evolved mechanism for achieving targets by all the Judicial Officers. Moreover, to check slackness at any level directions have been issued for submission of monthly progress reports.
Sources in judiciary told EXCELSIOR that hectic deliberations were going on during the past quite long time at the level of State High Court on the steps required to be initiated to bring down pendency of cases in all the courts across Jammu and Kashmir.
Finally, an Action Plan has been prepared with the approval of Acting Chief Justice of the State High Court Justice Alok Aradhe for disposal of maximum number of pending cases by the end of March 2019. The Action Plan has been communicated to all the Principal District and Sessions Judges for strict compliance at every level in the subordinate judiciary.
As per the Action Plan, all the Principal and Additional District and Sessions Judges have been asked to decide/dispose of all cases of under-trials by March 31, 2019 where the charge-sheet has been filed on or before March 31, 2016.
Similarly, they have been asked to decide and dispose of all criminal revisions filed on or before June 30, 2018 by March 31, 2019. “Decide by March 31, 2019 all criminal challans irrespective of involvement of under-trials wherein charge sheet/challan has been filed on or before March 31, 2014. Similarly, all criminal appeals filed on or before March 31, 2017 shall be decided by March 31, 2019”, read the Action Plan.
The Principal and Additional District and Sessions Judges have also been asked to dispose of all civil original suits and other civil matters which have been filed by or before March 31, 2014 and all civil miscellaneous appeals filed on or before June 30, 2018 by end of current financial year.
As far as corruption cases are concerned, the Special Judge CBI Jammu/Srinagar and Special Judges Anti-Corruption of the State would be required to decide and dispose of all the cases filed on or before March 31, 2014 by March 31, 2019.
The Civil Judges and Judicial Magistrates have been asked to take effective steps to decide all the cases of under-trials where the charge-sheet has been filed on or before March 31, 2017 and all criminal challan irrespective of involvement of under-trials wherein charge-sheet has been filed on or before March 31, 2014 by March 31, 2019.
Similarly, they have been asked to decide all civil original suits and other civil matters which have been filed by or before March 31, 2014 by March 31, 2019. “If in any court there is no case, instituted on or before March 31, 2014 is pending, such courts shall decide and dispose of all those civil matters which have been instituted on or before March 31, 2017”, read the Action Plan.
In a significant decision, the High Court has directed that all the cases/applications where interim stay orders have been passed shall be decided within one month of passing of such order. “All bail applications shall be decided within a week in terms of order dated March 5, 2017 of Apex Court passed in the case titled Hussain and Another Versus Union of India”, the High Court said.
Not only Action Plan, the High Court has also come out with mechanism for achieving these targets. A committee comprising of Principal District and Sessions Judge, senior most Additional District Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate of the district has been constituted in each district for monitoring implementation of Action Plan.
The committee on monthly basis shall oversee and regulate the progress/disposal of the old cases pending in the district after identifying nature, category and duration of such cases and send report on monthly basis to the High Court for perusal.
“The committee while sending the report may also lay emphasis on the nature of such cases which could not be disposed of within the period of five years”, the High Court said, adding “the fair distribution of cases in the courts of a particular hierarchy is required to prevent overburdening of such courts”.
The Presiding Officers of the courts have been asked to prioritize the cases of under trial prisoners, senior citizens, marginalized sections of society, differently abled persons, crime relating to women and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
Moreover, the Judicial Officers of the State have been directed to furnish monthly data regarding disposal of more than five years old and more than 10 years old cases to the Registrar General of the High Court by or before 10th day of each month.
It is pertinent to mention here that instructions for hearing and disposing such cases on fast track basis were issued vide circulars dated February 20, 2015, December 16, 2015, June 2, 2016 and August 24, 2017 respectively.
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