According to the responses received from the High Courts, Constitution Day Celebrations and Chief Justices’ Conference, Supreme Court of India, 26-27 November, 2022, an in-house software named ‘Supreme Court e-register’ has been developed by the Patna High Court to monitor and track the orders of the Supreme Court and communicate them to the District Courts concerned. Notably, each court has been given the flexibility to choose its preferred online platform by the e-Committee, resulting in a lack of uniformity in the virtual hearing process, posing challenges for both litigants and advocates. For instance, CISCO Webex VC licences have been provided to judges of the Patna High Court. In contrast, Microsoft Teams VC licences have been provided to the Judicial Officers of the State of Bihar.
Although Court premises should be situated where there is end-to-end connectivity of public transport systems, getting sufficient and suitable land is one of the major hurdles to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in terms of infrastructure. The main roadblock in construction of new court complexes is identification of land in proper area/location. Identification and allotment of land is the responsibility of the State Government. The lands suggested by the local bodies are in isolated places and far away from the prominent places viz. bus stop/railway station, Tehsil office, Police Station. The court complexes are often located in the heart of the town in densely populated areas which does not leave any scope for expansion of additional courtrooms. This presents a unique challenge as there is no scope for additional construction within the existing premises and no suitable land is usually available in the vicinity for additional construction. In Bihar, there are 16 sub-divisions where the State Government is yet to propose suitable land. Land is yet to be identified in locations that are easily accessible to the public, free from encumbrances. Notably, land initially identified for the court complex at Gopalganj, Bihar, turned out to be a moratorium land.
In an incident, two police officers allegedly assaulted an Additional District Judge in his chamber. Such events inside the court premises shows that it is time that comprehensive steps are taken to ensure that court spaces are secure. Source: “Bihar police officers beat up judge for ‘summoning’ them”, The Times of India, 18 November 2021, available at
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/madhubani-judge-roughed-up-by-two-cops/articleshow/
87787214.cms
This issue was raised in the Chief Justices’ Conference 2022 where the following resolution was passed:
In May 2022, a dilapidated court boundary of Biharsharif District Court collapsed during the court proceedings, killing a woman. Source:1 killed, 6 injured as court wall collapses in Biharsharif’, Hindustan Times, dated 13 May 2022, https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/patna-news/1-killed-6-injured-as-court-wall-collapses-in-biharsharif-101652440150754.html
The Supreme Court took note of the incidents across the country affecting day-to-day functioning of the courts, in Pradyuman Bisht v. Union of India (2022) and observed that: “1. Would not hope for the litigants who visit the temples of justice dwindle, if the very halls of justice lack the shield of security? How can the litigants secure justice for them when those entrusted to render justice are themselves insecure? 2.…Preserving the sanctity of a court as a space where justice is administered and the rule of law upheld being non-negotiable, it is critical that judicial institutions take comprehensive steps to safeguard the well-being of all stakeholders. Such incidents, that too in court premises, are deeply concerning and pose significant risks to the safety of not only judges but lawyers, court staff, litigants and the general public.”
The National Court Management Systems (NCMS) Committee of the Supreme Court in its Baseline Report suggested that there should be segregated and dedicated alighting points for judges’ vehicles, from where judges are able to reach their chambers on various floors through separate lifts and stairs to avoid entry by unauthorised persons.
India’s highest court presently has only 3 female judges (9.3%) out of its working strength of 32 judges, as of 1 October 2023.118 Similarly, there are only 103 female judges (13.42%) out of 767 permanent and additional judges in the High Courts across India. In the district judiciary, female judges comprise 36.33% of the total judge strength.
SUGGESTIONS OF JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA
Justice Sanjiv Khanna of Supreme Court of India made the following suggestions in the Working Session on ‘State of the Judiciary’ at the Supreme Court of India on 26 November 2023 (Constitution Day Celebrations).
SHORT TERM GOAL : Reducing present case pendency
LONG TERM GOAL : Reducing case life cycle
1. Modernising trial proceedings through video conferencing
a. Explore the systemization of video recording in court proceedings. Audio recordings can serve as an alternative when video infrastructure is unavailable. This will lead to effective monitoring of district judiciary by promoting timely court sittings and deterring unnecessary adjournments.
b. Emphasis on capturing evidence stage witness statements for comprehensive documentation and verification.
2. Automated transcription and translation
a. There is an urgent need to transcribe trials using automated tools. Real-time transcription could be a solution to the shortage of stenographers and sluggishness in trials by expediting the documentation process. Digitised transcripts will fasten the supply of trial court records to the appellate court.
b. Speech to Text mechanisms may be used for dictation. It would further enable automated translation from vernacular languages to English.
3. Optimum Approach - Human Resource Management
a. The procedure for calculation of sanctioned posts must take into consideration the grassroot realities and performance indicators.
b. There is a need to move towards an optimum and need-based approach. For example, the district judiciary, specially the CBI Courts of New Delhi, are facing the issue of lack of work due to delay by prosecution in moving the trial. This contributes to underutilisation of judicial time. There is a need for reallocation of judicial work in such cases.
c. Optimum analysis in this regard should be conducted periodically by the State Judicial Academies under the supervision of the High Court.
4. Discounting traffic/police challans and Section 138 NI Act cases from the case pendency. As bulk contributors of pendency, they must be dealt summarily or by Lok Adalats.
5. Establishing stringent timelines for completion of trial, akin to commercial laws of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and Commercial Courts Act. The qualitative component of justice must not be compromised in an effort to eliminate delay or clear the arrears.
6. Old criminal appeals pending in the High Court should be allocated to each judge/bench.
7. Measuring Court Performance
a. There is a need to formulate a comprehensive strategy that reflects on and analyses the performance of the courts. Establishment of a robust internal process will foster the objectivity, reliability and comparability of data.
b. An objective grading system for performance assessment of district judges with a bell-curve approach should be adopted. Judges may be divided into performance categories based on where their performance falls on the bell curve. Commonly, these categories include: Judges in the high and above-average categories may receive positive reinforcement, while those in the below-average or poor performer categories may receive targeted feedback and improvement plans. This will ensure transparency in the grading process to maintain the credibility of the performance evaluation system.
Source: State of the Judiciary A report on Infrastructure, Budgeting, Human Resources and ICT, November 2023
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