Law Ministry's Consultative Committee Meeting

The Minister for Law and Justice Shri Sadananda Gowda has said that consultations could be held with the Home Ministry to strengthen criminal justice system. He was responding to concerns of the Members of the Consultative Committee of the Parliament attached to his Ministry on the large number of pending criminal cases in the country at its meeting in New Delhi last evening. 

The meeting discussed ‘e-Courts/Computerization of Courts’ and Repeal of obsolete and redundant Laws’. 

Members of the Committee Shri K. Parasaran, Shri K.T.S. Tulsi and Shri Majeed Memon expressed concern that there should also be modernization of criminal justice system including in the manner of registering an FIR, recording of evidence etc. The Minister sharing the members’ concern said that some of these areas need a consultation with the Home Ministry, to which the members agreed. 

Details of computerization of all courts in the country in the first phase, wherein over 13,000 District Courts are being modernized and being linked to the National Judicial Data Grid were discussed. Proposals for ‘e-Courts Phase-II” wherein the entire process of litigation from filing of cases, to the final judgment stage, which is expected to lead to an effective monitoring of justice delivery system also came up for discussion. 

In his opening remarks, the Law Minister also gave details of pending bills for the repeal of 36 Acts including four Principal Acts and another Bill for the repeal of 90 Amending Acts. 

Other Members of the committee include Shri Balasubramaniam Senguttuvan , Shri Joice George, Smt. Ranjeet Ranjan, Shri A. Navaneethakrishnan, Shri Ayannur Manjunath, Shri Kalyan Banerjee and Shri G.N. Ratanpuri.