Oldest Constitution Bench matter pending in Supreme Court since 1992, Law Minister tells Lok Sabha

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, July 29

There are 29 Constitution Bench matters, including five nine-Judge Bench cases, pending in the Supreme Court which has decided 2,183 Constitution Bench cases since 1950, the Government has told Parliament.

“As per information obtained from the Supreme Court of India, as on 20.07.2023, there were 29 main cases pending for adjudication before the Supreme Court in the form of Constitution Bench cases. Out of these 29 cases, 18 cases are pending before 5-Judge Bench, 6 cases pending before 7-Judge Bench and 5 cases pending before 9-Judge Bench for adjudication,” Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The oldest Constitutional Bench matter pending before the top court was more than three decades old titled Abhiram Singh versus CS Commachen (Dead) by LRs and Others which was registered in 1992, the Minister’s reply revealed.

Noting that adjudication and disposal of cases was within the exclusive domain of the judiciary and the Central Government had no role in it, Meghwal said, “It cannot be said that the reason for pendency of the Constitution Bench cases is the lack of interest in expediting the same.”

Responding to a question AM Ariff, an MP from Alappuzha in Kerala, the Law Minister said the highest 956 Constitution Bench matters were disposed of during 1960-69, followed by 440 cases during 1950-59; 292 matters during 1970-79; 157 cases between 1990 and 1999; 138 cases during 2000-09; 71 cases during 2010-19 and only 19 such cases between 2020 and 2023.

While 18 cases were pending before a five-judge Constitution Bench, six cases were pending before a seven-judge Constitution Bench and five cases were before a nine-judge Constitution Bench, Meghwal stated.