Pendency also in Fast Track Courts, e-POCSO
*Alternate Dispute Resolution methods being promoted
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 21: Over 3.62 lakh cases are pending in different courts across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. Moreover, there is pendency up to certain extent in the Fast Track Courts and Special Courts and in order to reduce pendency and unclog the courts Alternate Dispute Resolution methods are being promoted.
This information has been furnished by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to the Lok Sabha in response to the questions of Members of Parliament, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
As on July 15, 2023, a total of 45093 cases of different nature are pending in the Common High Court of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. As far as District and Subordinate Courts are concerned, 316596 cases are pending across Jammu and Kashmir and 1205 in Ladakh.
About the Fast Track Courts which were established for speedy trial of specific cases of heinous nature, civil cases related to women, children, senior citizens, disabled persons and persons infected with terminal ailments etc, the Ministry informed that in 2020 only one such court was functional in Jammu and Kashmir and there was no pendency as on December 31, 2020 as all the 27 cases were disposed of during the year.
In 2021, four such courts were functional in Jammu and Kashmir and they settled 391 cases as such no case was pending as on December 31, 2021. However, in the year 2022, 54 cases were settled by these courts and 686 cases were pending as on December 31, 2022. In the year 2023, four Fast Track Courts were functional and they disposed of 15 cases and pendency as on May 31, 2023 was 1071.
About the Fast Track Special Courts including exclusive Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (e-POCSO) courts established for speedy disposal of cases related to rape and POCSO Act, the Ministry said that at the end of May 2023, 188 rape cases were pending while as 252 cases were pending in e-POCSO.
With a view to reduce pendency and unclog the courts, Alternate Dispute Resolution methods are being promoted whole heartedly and Lok Adalat is an important mechanism available to people, the Ministry said, adding “it is a forum where the disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/compromised amicably”.
Moreover, the Government has launched the tele-law programme which is providing an effective and reliable e-interface platform connecting the needy and disadvantaged sections seeking legal advice and consultation with panel lawyers via video-conferencing, telephone and chat facilities available at the Common Service Centres situated in Gram Panchayat and through tele-law mobile app.
Stating that Government is promoting Alternate Dispute Redressal mechanisms including arbitration and mediation, the Ministry said that these mechanisms are less adversarial and are capable of providing a better substitute to the conventional methods of resolving disputes. “The use of ADR mechanisms is also expected to reduce the burden on the judiciary and thereby enable timely justice dispensation to citizens”.
As per the reply of the Ministry, funds being released under e-Courts Mission Mode Project are being effectively utilized in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. The project is aimed at ICT enablement of district/subordinate courts with a view to facilitate faster disposal of cases by speeding up court processes and providing transparent on-line flow of information on case status, orders/judgments etc to the judiciary as well as litigants, lawyers and other stakeholders.
It is pertinent to mention here that e-Courts Phase-I was aimed at basic computerization of courts and providing local network connectivity while as Phase-II of the project focused on citizen-centric e-services etc.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
