Change laws, strengthen judiciary to clear backlog: Prez

Huge backlog of cases in the courts is a major issue and the solution lies in changing laws and strengthening judicial institutions, President Pratibha Patil said in Uttan today.

"One of the major issues confronting the judiciary is the huge backlog of cases... Cases have taken inordinately long time to come to conclusion and litigants have not been able to lead normal life unsure of the verdict in their case," she said.

The President was inaugurating Maharashtra Judicial Academy in Uttan. She said solution should be found for those waiting for justice since long and added, "this could include revising many of our legal codes and laws which are old and outdated as well as strengthening institutional aspects of judiciary."

Addressing the audience which included Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Swatanter Kumar and several High Court judges, she said, "Cost of access to justice has become high and expensive whether it is in terms of court fees or lawyers' fees. This has given rise to worrisome doubt about access to justice especially for the weaker sections of society."

"It should be our bounden duty to ensure that justice was accessible to all," Patil said, adding that options like mobile courts for remote areas, wide network of legal assistance for the poor and predictable schedule of hearings can be useful in tackling the issue. (ST-27/06)
Change laws, strengthen judiciary to clear backlog: Prez

Huge case backlog clogs India's courts By Neeta Lal
DELHI - India's woefully underfunded court system, with its shortfall of judges but excess of corrupt lawyers, is also saddled with a gargantuan backlog of 29.2 million cases pending across hundreds of subordinate state-level courts, 21 high courts and the Supreme Court.

According to figures released recently by the Indian Supreme Court- the country's highest judicial authority- out of this mind-boggling number, over 25.4 million cases are pending in subordinate courts, 3.7 million cases in various high courts while the Supreme Court is stuck with 45,887 cases awaiting justice.
Full article at: Huge backlog clogs India's courts

Points to Ponder
Can the India's Courts ever deliver justice without delay?....the backlog alone will take another 100 years to clear....still there are cases which are alive and kicking after 400 years....Justice and Judgement pending for four centuries!