CJI Surya Kant sets the agenda
The Tribune Editorial: An assessment of the ground reality can pave the way for taking practical steps to speed up the justice delivery process.
THE 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Surya Kant, has listed reducing the backlog of cases in courts and promoting mediation as his foremost priorities. Given the systemic impediments, any forward movement on both counts would come as a welcome relief. Alluding to the pendency of approximately 90,000 cases before the Supreme Court, the new CJI has said it is critical to understand why litigants are coming directly to the apex court, and to revive the ‘healthy practices’ of approaching lower courts first. Also on the top of his agenda is seeking reports from high courts about the number of pending cases and collecting data from trial courts across the country. An assessment of the ground reality can pave the way for taking practical steps to speed up the justice delivery process. With a 15-month-long tenure, Chief Justice Kant has his task cut out.
