5.15 crore cases pending in courts: Govt

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) There are 5.15 crore cases pending in various Indian courts, including the Supreme Court, High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha that there are 82,171 pending cases in the Supreme Court, as per information available on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) till November 30.

He said the number of pending cases in High Courts is 57.82 lakh and in District and Subordinate Courts, it is 4.56 crore.

MoS Meghwal said the pendency of cases in courts can be attributed to several factors, which include the availability of physical infrastructure and supporting court staff, the complexity of facts involved, the nature of evidence, cooperation of stakeholders like bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures.

“Other factors that lead to delay in disposal of cases include lack of prescribed timeframe by respective courts for disposal of various kinds of cases, frequent adjournments and lack of adequate arrangement to monitor, track and bunch cases for hearing,” the MoS said.

The MoS told the House that based on the population as per the Census 2011, which was 1210.19 million, and as per available information regarding the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court, High Courts and District and Subordinate Courts in the year 2024, the judge-population ratio in the country works out to be approximately 21 judges per million population.

Giving details of the appointment of judges in High Courts, MoS Meghwal said: “In 2024, the number of fresh appointments was 34, in 2023 it was 110, in 2022 it was 165, in 2021 it was 120, in 2020 it was 66 and 2019 it was 81.”

“The number of judges appointed to the Supreme Court in 2024 was four, in 2023 it was 14, in 2022, it was three, in 2021, it was nine and in 2019, it was 10. There was no appointment in 2020,” said the MoS.

–IANS

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Collaboration, innovation, PPP key to achieve 2047 goals: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS) Collaboration between Centre and state, innovation, and public-private partnerships are key to achieving the 2047 goals of a Viksit Bharat, said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Sunday.

He said this while chairing the monthly Joint Ministerial Meeting of the Secretaries of all the Science Ministries and Departments of the Government in the national capital.

Singh called for aligning all the government departments as well as the Centre and State efforts with a “whole of Government” and “whole of Science” approach to transform India into “Viksit Bharat” by 2047.

He called for cooperative federalism in science and stressed the need to integrate all the stakeholders to create a sustainable and progressive ecosystem.

The meeting served as a key platform for evaluating ongoing programmes and discussing future strategies to strengthen India’s scientific ecosystem.

Singh also emphasised the vital role of State Scientific Councils in fostering innovation, advancing regional development, and contributing to national goals.

“State Scientific Councils must rise to the occasion and play their part in achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat. By working together, we can harness the full potential of our scientific resources to transform India into a developed nation by 2047,” the minister added.

He urged states to act as catalysts for cultivating a scientific temperament, promoting grassroots innovation, and leveraging local expertise to address unique challenges.

The Union Minister also highlighted the importance of market capitalisation for innovations emerging from India’s scientific agencies.

“Scientific innovation must not remain confined to laboratories. It should translate into impactful, market-ready solutions that empower industries and improve lives,” he stated.

“By effectively marketing technologies, India could establish itself as a global leader in innovation and technology-led solutions,” Singh added.

He also advocated for frameworks that enable public-private collaboration to fast-track the commercialisation of lab-scale breakthroughs.

The Union minister stressed that such partnerships are essential for bridging the gap between research and real-world applications, ensuring that innovations are accessible, scalable, and impactful.

–IANS

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Congress amended Constitution for gains, says Nirmala Sitharaman in RS

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who initiated the debate on the Constitution in Rajya Sabha on Monday, launched a sharp attack on Congress, accusing the party of amending the Constitution repeatedly to restrict civil liberties and for their gains.

“In the last seven decades, this living document, our Constitution, has seen many amendments,” she said, alleging that the first amendment under Nehru’s interim government “curbed the freedom of speech”.

Giving details about the First Amendment, Sitharaman said, “…The Supreme Court in 1950 had ruled in favour of the Communist magazine “Cross Roads” and the RSS organisational magazine “Organizer”. But in response, the (then) interim government thought that there was a need for a first Constitutional amendment and that was brought in by the Indian National Congress (INC) and it was essentially to curb the freedom. So India, a democratic country which prides itself even today on freedom of expression saw the first interim government coming up with a Constitutional amendment which was to curb the freedom of speech of Indians and that within one year of adoption of the Constitution…”

“This First Amendment was done to harm the press and it is still affecting the freedom of media. This amendment was done by PM Nehru despite MPs being against it,” she said.

She said a critical evaluation of amendments based on four criteria: whether they were genuine, their outcomes for the people, the processes adopted, and adherence to the Constitution’s spirit, was required.

“The first Prime Minister of this country scrutinized the amending bill himself before its approval in Parliament. However, the debate in Parliament was far from smooth. Shri Syama Prasad Mukherjee remarked: ‘You can pass a law and claim to frame and form the Constitution, but now you are treating this Constitution as mere paper. You trusted the people of this country to write it, and now you come forward and stab them in the back.’ Kameshwar Singh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, also expressed disagreement, stating: ‘It is highly improper to make such changes to the Constitution.’ These actions showed an utter disregard for the Constitution, bypassing the judiciary,” she said.

“Those who are working on amending the Constitution, if they are good people outcome will be good, if they are bad people outcome will be bad,” said the Union Minister.

“Today, we hear comments from the Congress party on the judicial system, but they themselves went to great lengths in the past to undermine it. For instance, to nullify judgments, they introduced amendments. In the case of Indira Gandhi vs. Raj Narain, during the Emergency in 1975, a biography of Nehru was banned, and the film ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’ was also banned just because it questioned Indira Gandhi and raised critical issues…That’s the extent they went to bypass judicial scrutiny. Congress speaks about protecting rights and also the judicial system…how?”

The Finance Minister while lauding the Consitution and the people of India said, ” As we mark 75 years of the Constitution, it is time, I think, to reaffirm our commitment to building India, that is Bharat, which upholds the spirit and shines through this sacred document.”

“…Post Second World War, over 50 countries had become independent and had their Constitution written. But many have changed their Constitutions, not just amended them but literally changed the entire feature of their Constitution. But our Constitution has stood the test of time, of course, yielded itself to very many amendments…”

–IANS

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