CJI: More courts needed for proper dispensation of justice

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice K G Balakrishnan stressed the need for setting up more courts to hear cases across the country.  Addressing a gathering at the Kerala High Court Day celebrations, he said more courts were needed for the proper dispensation of justice to people. He said the country had just 15 per cent courts, but there was a need to have 85 per cent more courts, commensurate to the population rate. 



‘In China there were 1,30,000 courts. But we had only 14,000 courts and close to 30 per cent of the cases were pending in various courts,’ he added. 



Last year, 1.5 crore cases were filed before courts and about 1.7 crore cases were disposed of, he noted. ‘ I have reiterated the need to have more courts and this has been brought to the notice of the Planning Commission to allocate funds for the purpose,’ he said. Justice Balakrishnan said the country experienced docket exclusion and not docket explosion as people were shying away from the courts to get justice. ‘ If 33 cases were registered by every 10,000 people in the state, the rate was five cases in Chattisgarh, showing that people were not approaching the courts,’ he added. 



Justice Balakrishnan said more courts should be established before an explosive situation arises and for dispensing justice and restoring the confidence of people in the judiciary. ‘With limited facilities, the judiciary system was working properly and more cases could be disposed of with the co-operation of the lawyers and officials concerned and introduction of more facilities,’ Justice Balakrishnan said. 



Speaking on the occasion, Kerala High Court Chief Justice S R Bannurmath said the Green Bench to hear cases relating to environment and bio-diversity issues would start functioning from next month. Noting that pendency of cases was a problem, Justice Bannurmath said nearly 1,12,000 cases were pending in the High Court and more than nine lakh cases in the lower courts in the state. 



He said last year 68,190 cases were disposed of including 53 full bench cases and there were nearly 10,000 cases which were pending for more than five years. Cine star Mohanlal inaugurated the cultural functions of the celebrations.