4.6 lakh cases pending, HC blames govts

Saurabh Malik 
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 23

Facing pendency of more than 4.6 lakh cases, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has blamed the state governments for the decades-long predicament plaguing the country’s judicial system. In a scathing indictment, the High Court has asserted that more than 50 per cent litigation in courts across the country is being filed “on account of lapse or negligence of the state machinery”.

The observation by Justice Ramendra Jain comes at a time when the total pendency of cases in high courts across the country has crossed 36 lakh. Statistics released by the National Judicial Data Grid reveal that 46,2065 cases are pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court alone — 33, 5509 for more than a year. 

Rapping Haryana for waiting too long before filing appeals, Justice Jain said the plea taken by the applicant-state for condonation of delay was being taken in routine in almost every case. The admonition came during the hearing of an application in a regular second appeal by Kaithal District Forest Officer and other appellants against Raj Kumar under the Limitation Act.

Justice Jain asserted it was a well-settled proposition of law that each day’s delay was to be explained in a mathematical manner. “Much water has already flowed. Now the time has come to deprecate and reject such  frivolous pleas taken in routine to abuse the process of law. It is needless to mention here that every state government or its functionaries are best (biggest) litigant in the country…”

Dismissing the application, Justice Jain added a cogent reason or plausible explanation had not been furnished by the applicant-state for condonation of delay in filing the appeal.