Pending pile: judges to put in extra hours, cut time off

At the end of a two-day annual conference of Chief Justices of High Courts today, chaired by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, the judges passed a resolution to this effect.

Seen as a first step towards implementing the Malimath Committee recommendations for increasing the number of working days of high courts, the conference saw unanimity on the fact that the current pendency has to be reduced.

“The High Court judges will not go on holidaying on working days,” said the resolution. Not just this, the conference also resolved that the High Courts could consider extending their working hours up to five and a half hours a day from the current four and a half. It also suggested that judges be requested, “to work during vacation, although on voluntary basis.”

The High Courts, at present, are on vacation ranging from 48 to 63 days. The Malimath Committee had suggested that the number of working days in the High Courts be increased to 231 from the current 210 days.

The conference also agreed that the “disposal rate” of an Additional Judge be considered as a criterion for his appointment as permanent judge. In other words, more the number of cases disposed of by each Additional Judge, better should be the chances of him/her being elevated. It was also resolved that norms for revising the strength of judges in High Courts be “delinked” from the disposal rate and fixed on the basis of the pendency of cases there.

In yet another measure to reduce the backlog, resolutions by Chief Justices of MP, Uttarakhand and Sikkim Justices A K Patnaik, V K Gupta and A N Ray respectively said that in trial petty cases, High Courts will take steps to appoint Special Metropolitan Magistrates or judicial magistrates presided by retired Government servants and court servants who have a professional degree in law. These Special Magistrates shall work under the control and superintendence of a senior Judicial Officer, it was resolved.

... contd.