The state government plans to set up 14 new courts at different places in the state during this fiscal year for disposal of all the cases pending for more than a year.

State Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala in his budget speech on Tuesday announced the budgetary provision of Rs 155.25 crore for the legal department for fiscal year 2009-10,

Claiming that Gujarat was the only state allocating such a large budget to facilitate judicial infrastructure, Vala told the House the state government had also decided to set up Nari Adalats in all the cities having a population more than 10 lakh for quick disposal of marriage disputes and family matters.

He told the House that the government had decided to create additional 14 special courts for disposal of pending cases under Article 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Two of these courts will be set up in Ahmedabad city and total four in Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, he said.

According to Vala, a senior civil judge court has also been planned at Modasa, a taluka in Sabarkantha district.

For computerisation of the high court and various other courts, the state government has also set aside a budget of Rs 1 crore in 2009-10. The government also plans to create more posts of assistant government pleaders in various courts to facilitate quick disposal of cases.

A provision of Rs 1.34 crore has also been made in the current fiscal year for evening courts that have helped reduce the pendency of the cases in the state. Vala claimed that 87 evening courts functioning in the state had together disposed of 5.34 lakh cases since these were set up two years ago.

... contd.