CJI blames Govt for huge pendency of cases in courts

CJI blames Govt for huge pendency of cases in courts
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, AUG 4: Chief Justice of India A S Anand has squarely blamed the Centre and the state governments for the huge pendency of cases in courts saying vacancies of Judges remain unfilled.

"It is the Centre and the state governments who take their own sweet time for approval of appointment of judges and vacancies remain unfilled resulting in huge pendency," Justice Anand said in the foundation stone laying ceremony of new Central Administrative Tribunal complex building here on Friday.

Law Minister Arun Jaitley said in his speech, "hard decisions on the Justice delivery system has to be taken in consultation with the judiciary and the Bar to erase the huge backlog of cases in the lower courts and the High Courts."

He said about two crore cases were pending in the lower courts while around 33 lakh pending in the High Courts.

Justice Anand responded by saying he had no grievance against the High Courts which disposed of 13 lakh of the 15 lakh cases instituted in the last two years and that too with 25 per cent of the posts there remaining vacant.

Jaitley also complained of "not too happy experience" regarding the pendency of cases in Central Administrative Tribunals.

Justice Anand was quick to respond saying "one of the causes for the pendency is non-filling up of the vacancies of various benches in the country in time and the lack of infrastructure and Financial starvation."