YOU ARE MISSED, YOUR HONOUR

Ahmedabad Mirror: Ahmedabad: Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

Try not to get on the wrong side of law, even for a seemingly mundane issue. You will know why, if and when the case reaches the court of law. Currently, 26 per cent posts of judges lie vacant in various courts of Gujarat, including the high court which has 40 per cent vacancy. This has led to cases piling up, with over 17.5 lakh pending in courts across State.The highest backlog has been seen in Ahmedabad courts. According to details procured by Mirror through RTI, against the sanctioned strength of 1,508 judges, only 1,111 posts have been filled up.

That leaves a deficit of 397 judges. Even the Gujarat High Court has 21 vacancies for judges. As per official figures, there are 17,58,423 cases, including 11,82,346 criminal and 5,76,011civil cases, pending in State courts. Of these, a whopping 3,49,077 cases are pending for over 10 years. They account for almost 20 per cent of the total backlog. Right below Ahmedabad in the list of pending cases are the courts in Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot. According to official data, more than 55,000 cases are those which get adjourned for more than three months.

A court is able to hear just a fourth of the cases listed daily. “At HC a single court has a causelist (cases scheduled to be heard on a given day) of 100 to 150 cases but is able to hear barely two-three dozen of them. The remaining litigants have to return without a hearing. Such trips add to the burden of legal expenses that people have to bear. There is no end to their trauma,” said a lawyer requesting anonymity. Against the approved strength of 52 judges, the HC has just 31. Each one of them has a causelist of 200-250 cases.

“The court works for 300 minutes in a day. Even if we were to allot just five minutes for each case, the high court would be able to hear a maximum of 60 cases,” said Asim Pandya, president of Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association . “SC and the government should initiate action to fill up the vacant posts of judges. Our Evidence Act and other laws have become obsolete. Their procedures too are lengthy and should be changed,” the law expert said. Data provided in reply to an RTI application reveal there are 270 district judges against the sanctioned strength of 361. There are 308 senior civil judges against 471vacancies, 476 civil judges against 608 sanctioned strength and 57 against 68 approved posts at industrial and labour courts.

Why these vacancies

Legal experts say it is the lengthy procedure of appointment of judges that is resulting in vacancies. “The reason behind positions remaining vacant is the long recruitment procedure. The court and the government should take prompt steps,” said SM Soni, former Lokayukta and Gujarat HC judge. He said, “Earlier, the government had mulled setting up National Judicial Appointment Commission but the Supreme Court had rejected it and the collegium system for appointment of judges continued. The government should act on recommendations of the collegium and fill up all vacant posts."

36-year-old wait

72-year-old Motibhai Parmar has been fighting a case for 36 years to get back the possession of his tenement. “I had filed this case when I was 36 years old. After so many years, I am still waiting for justice. Even if I were to get it now, what meaning would it have at this age?” asked a dejected Parmar while talking to Mirror.

7 yrs for an order

Bhumika Upadhyay, 37, has been waiting for alimony for last 10 years. “I had filed a case in family court in 2007. In 2014, the court ordered my exhusband to pay alimony. As per the norms, such an order should come within three to six months but I had to wait for seven long years. Even now, I haven’t got the alimony,” she said.

Choosing closure

Tired of waiting for a trial in a divorce case, Dr Ankur Mishra, 35, decided to go for an out-of-court settlement after being fed up of frequent court visits. “My wife had filed acase of dowry harassment against me. She had also demanded divorce and alimony. The family court ordered me to pay a hefty alimony . No trial happened in the dowry case for 7 years,” Mishra said.