Judges shortage: CJI turns emotional, tells PM not to shift entire burden on judiciary

AGENCY
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India T S Thakur on Sunday became emotional in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, lamenting government’s “inaction” in raising the number of judges from 21,000 to 40,000 to handle mounting cases, saying, “you cannot shift the entire burden on the judiciary”.
“Nothing moves”, an unusually emotional
Thakur said, recalling a 1987 Law Commission recommendation to increase the number of judges from then 10 judges per 10 lakh people to 50.
“Then comes inaction by the government as the increase (in the strength of judges) does not take place,” he said in a choked voice while addressing the inaugural session of Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts here.
“…And therefore, it is not  only in the name of a litigant or people languishing in jails but also in the name of development of the country, its progress that I beseech you to rise to the occasion and realise that it is not enough to criticise. You cannot shift the entire burden on the judiciary,” the Chief Justice of India, who was seen wiping his eyes on three occasions, said as the Prime Minister heard him in rapt attention.
Modi, who was not scheduled to speak as per the programme circulated by the Law Ministry, said, “I can understand his (CJI’s) pain as a lot of time has lapsed since 1987. Whatever has been the compulsions, but its better to be late than never. We will do better in the future. Let us see how to move forward by reducing the burden of the past,” he said.
He said if constitutional barriers do not create any problems, then top ministers and senior Supreme Court judges can sit together in a closed room to find a solution to the issue.
Modi also recalled that in one such conference he had attended as the Gujarat Chief Minister, he had flagged the issue of reducing vacation in courts and holding morning and evening courts but during lunch break during that event he was in for trouble as some judges had questioned the idea.
Later, addressing a press conference on the day’s deliberations, the CJI admitted that being emotional is his “weakness”.
“One should not be emotional. Justice Kehar (who is likely to be the next CJI) is a strong man. He will not be emotional,” he said.
In his address, the Chief Justice said following the Law Commission’s recommendation, the Supreme Court in 2002 had also supported increasing the strength of the judiciary. A Parliamentary Department Related Standing Committee on Law then headed by Pranab Mukherjee had also recommended taking the judge to people ratio to 50 from 10.
The CJI also spoke of the “tug-of-war” that goes on between the Centre and the states over funding, infrastructure and other issues.
As of today, the judge to people ratio stands at 15 judges to 10 lakh people which is way less as compared to the US, Australia, the UK and Canada.
Referring to the pressures Indian judges face, Justice Thakur said from a munsif to a Supreme Court judge, the average disposal in India is 2,600 cases per annum as compared to 81 cases per annum in the US.
The CJI said while the central government has maintained that it is committed to help the judiciary, it is the duty of the state governments to improve the infrastructure and increase the manpower.
The states, he noted, want the Centre to provide funds for the purpose. “While the tug-of-war goes on, strength of judges remains where it is…five crore cases were processed and two crore were disposed. But there is a limit to the capacity of the performance of judges,” the CJI said.
The courts have drawn flak for the mounting pendency of cases with litigants at their wit’s end owing to repeated adjournments and rising costs.
The Chief Justice said, “In 1987, the requirement was 40,000 judges. From 1987 till now, we have added 25 crore in terms of population. We have grown into one of the fastest growing economies of the world, we are inviting foreign direct investment into the country, we want people to come and make in India, we want people to come and invest in India.
“Those whom we are inviting are also concerned about the ability of the judicial system in the country to deal with cases and disputes that arise out of such investments.
Efficacy of the judicial system is so vitally connected with the development,” he said, referring to Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Ease of doing business’ campaigns.
Modi recalled that in one such conference he had attended as the Gujarat Chief Minister, he had flagged the issue of reducing vacation in courts and holding morning and evening courts but during lunch break during that event he was in for trouble as some judges had questioned the idea.
“Old wine in a new bottle will not serve the purpose,” he said, adding that an “emotional appeal” made by him “may work” in getting the government take note of the problems being faced by the judiciary.
Giving out statistics, Justice Thakur said when the apex court came into being in 1950, it had a strength of 8 judges, including the CJI with 1,215 cases pending. Then, he said, the pendency was 100 cases per judge.
In 1960, the strength of the SC rose to 14 judges and the cases also increased to 3,247. In 1977, the strength was 18 and the cases were 14,501. By 2009, as is the case today, the strength of SC judges rose to 31 and the pending cases spiralled by 77,181. “In 2014, the cases were 81,582 which were reduced to 60,260…On December 2 when I took over as CJI and now, 17,482 cases were filed out of which 16,474 cases were disposed,” he said.
Referring to the pendency of cases, he said the High Courts have over 38 lakh cases to dispose and the number is increasing.
According to latest Law Ministry figures, the approved strength of the subordinate judiciary is 20,214 with 4,580 vacancies. The approved strength of the 24 high courts is 1,056 where the vacancies are pegged at 458 as on March one.
In the apex court, there are six vacancies against the sanctioned strength of 31 judges, including the CJI.

‘Retd judicial officers to work as ad hoc judges’
New Delhi: In a significant step to tackle mounting cases, a conference of chief ministers and chief justices of high courts today adopted a resolution to invoke a constitutional provision to appoint retired judicial officers as ad hoc judges.
Chief Justice of India T S Thakur announced here that the conference adopted a resolution that Article 224 A will be invoked to allow chief justices of high courts to appoint retired judicial officers as ad hoc judges.
“There is a provision in the  Constitution. It means that it is meant to be invoked,” he said.
Article 224 A of the Constitution states that the Chief Justice of a high court, with the previous consent of the President (Centre), request any person who has held the office of a judge of that court or any other high court to sit and act as a judge of the high court for that state.
There are nearly 3 crore cases pending before the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, the 24 high courts and various subordinate courts.
He said these ad hoc judges will tackle criminal cases where appeals have not been heard for the past five years. These judges will be appointed for a period of two years or upto the time they attain the age of 65. The CJI said these judges can also preside over ‘holiday courts’ on Saturdays and Sundays.
The conference also resolved that vacancies will be filled up in lower courts and the cadre strength will be increased by 10 per cent per annum till the review of the cadre strength is carried out in the near future.