Maladministration responsbile for rising litigations: CJI

Chief Justice of India, K G Balakrishnan said on Saturday that maladministration was responsible for the rising litigations in the country and emphasised on the fact that govt should come forward with a proper structure so that people get adequate compensation. "As the governance is not good in this country, we suffer," Justice Balakrishnan said in a special address at the South Zone Regional workshop on 'Techniques and Tools for Enhancing Timely Justice'. In Delhi, 20 lakh cases were pending. Two century old land acquisition cases were yet to be resolved. Large cases were pending in motor accident tribunals. The judiciary was trying to do its best, he said. He said a high power committee consisting of MPs, MLAs and civil servants should be formed to fix a reasonable amount of compensation in land acquisition cases. The government fixes an amount and drives all the people away forcing them to litigate. "Our system is encouraging litigation," he said. The Chief Justice said he had appealed to various state governments to provide more funds to improve infrastructure in various courts. The CJI urged the judicial officers to have knowledge of cases pending before them. Adjournment of cases was a major bottleneck, especially in north India, he said adding that studies have shown that 40 per cent of cases are 4-5 years old in some states. Stating that the state governments were not providing adequate funds for state judicial academies, he said, "we cannot afford to loose the confidence the people of the country have reposed in the judiciary". While in China only seven per cent criminal cases are registered, in India it was 40 per cent," he said. Earlier, laying the foundation stone of the new Ernakulam District Court complex, the chief justice lamented that not enough was being spent for improving infrastructure facilities in courts. It was unfortunate that only 728 per cent of the GDP was being spent for providing infrastructure in courts in the country. Not even one per cent was spent for improving facilities in courts, he said. He said during a recent meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, he had requested him to provide more funds for courts and the government had provided Rs 300 crore for the same. "The Government of India and the whole world is proud of Indian judiciary. But in providing infrastructure they are extremely lethargic and miserly," he said. However, he said the government was not against judiciary. Supreme Court judges Justices S B Sinha and R V Raveedran, Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Justice H L Dathu, Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Justice K S Radhakrishnan, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice Cyriac Jospeh, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice Dave, former chief justice of Kerala High Court V S Malimath, Judges and judicial officers of southern states participated in the function. In the new Ernakulam District Court Complex, 19 courts would be set up, including 10 district and nine other courts. Provision for record rooms, library, litigants waiting room have also been provided. Justices J B Koshy and P R Raman also spoke at the function. Neither the state Chief Minister nor any of his cabinet colleagues attended the function.

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