Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Malimath says: Pendency of old cases is debt on judges
BHOPAL / Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Ravi Malimath on Thursday said that the pendency of old cases is the debt on the judges which needs to be discharged by disposing of the 25 oldest cases in each court on regular basis.
Justice Malimath made this remark while addressing the gathering after unfurling the National Flag at the premises of the principal bench, Jabalpur on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day celebration.
“The pendency of cases is an indeed, a debt on us. In Hindu Law, it is the pious obligation of the son to discharge the debt of the father. I feel that it is our pious liability to reduce it. Not doing so is a gross dereliction of our primary duty as judges”, the CJMP said.
At the outset of the speech justice, Malimath said, “we shall always remember the sacrifices made by our revered forefathers, not only in the freedom struggle but, also for the formation of the new Republic of India. We need to remember and show our gratitude to those who have helped build India into a strong and independent country, the Chief Justice of MPHC said.
“The primary duty of the judiciary is to ensure the rendering of justice through the timely adjudication of cases, without fear or favour, affection or ill will. Society looks up to it with faith and confidence, to retain it, we need to be transparent and accountable”, justice Malimath also said.
Altogether, 1,21,041 old cases have been disposed off by the High Court in the year 2022, some of them were even pending since 1968. Out of them, 1,09,216 cases pending in the last five years have also been disposed off. All three benches of the High Court have been functioning since January 1 last year for an additional period of 30 minutes, leading to a consequential increase in the disposals, the Chief Justice said.
“Keeping in mind the huge pendency of cases in the district judiciary, a special programme ‘25 DEBT’ was launched on October 18, 2021. The term alludes to the fact that each and every case is a debt on the judiciary which needs to be discharged”, Justice Malimath added.
“Directions were given to every judge of the district judiciary to dispose off the 25 oldest cases in each court on a regular basis. Tremendous success has been achieved through the campaign”, he further added.
A total of 13,03,962 cases including 97,153 old pending litigations under 25 DEBT scheme have been disposed off during the last year in the district judiciaries of the state. And 1,86,578 cases which had been pending for more than 5 years were disposed off during the year. This is probably the highest-ever disposal of five-year-old cases, the CJ of MPHC shared.
He said that several measures have been taken and certain key work has also been undertaken for improving the justice delivery system to dispose off pending cases such as the functioning of the courts for an additional period of 30 minutes; efforts to fulfil the vacant posts of all kinds through appointments and promotions; regular publication and distribution of Indian Law Reports (ILRs); training programmes and conducting workshops for advocates through MP State Judicial Academy; improving and developing of the IT-related software, applications and e-services; enhancing works of Legal Service Authority; and setting up new courts and developing infrastructural works at various places of the state.
