Punjab and Haryana High Court intensifies efforts to reduce case backlog

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, March 22

In a concerted effort to address the persistent issue of pending cases, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has announced that all cases up to 1993 will now be listed in the “urgent motion cause list”.

This includes cases that have been pending in motion or regular hearing for less than three decades but are connected or ordered to be heard with matters pending for more than 30 years. The move is expected to expedite the resolution of older cases and reduce the overall case backlog.

Admitted cases from 1994 to 2000 will now be listed in the ordinary motion cause list. The cases in the urgent list are the first ones to be heard by the court followed by the ordinary list. The change in listing procedure is aimed at preventing the cases from being left unheard due to paucity of time.

Besides, cases dating back to 2000 concerning senior citizens, crimes against women, differently-abled individuals, juveniles, marginalised sections of society and matter falling under the Prevention of Corruption are receiving heightened attention. These, and other matters subject to stay orders or remand from the Supreme Court, will be taken up on priority basis.

Ordinarily filed regular second appeals up to 2021, where notice of motion is pending issuance, will be expedited and showcased in the urgent cause list to accelerate the adjudication process and ensuring timely resolution.

Further streamlining the procedure for document placements, the high court has made it clear that applications solely seeking to place documents on record, without additional requests except for exemption from filing certified copies, will be listed on the same date as the main case hearing.

Facing a backlog of more than 4,37,000 cases, the high court has prioritised the disposal of more than 2,917 cases entangled in the legal system for more than three decades. Already, 508 or 17 per cent of such cases have been disposed of by the high court even before the end of the first quarter. In all, 30 per cent of the decades-old cases are to be listed in the first batch, resulting in the accelerated resolution.

Overall, the pendency of cases has come down by 4,034 cases from 4,41,070 in January to 4,37,036 as on date following more disposal than filing resulting from better case management practices, despite the shortage of 30 judges. Currently headed by Acting Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, the high court has 55 judges against the sanctioned strength of 85.