If every case is appealed to Supreme Court, pendency of cases cannot be tackled in 500 years: Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Supreme Court on Sunday urged members of the bar and judiciary to endeavour to ensure speedy resolution of cases in order to tackle the issue of pendency. .He said that if each and every matter is litigated right up to the Supreme Court, then the problem of pendency cannot be tackled even in 500 years."The sheer volume of pendency, to my mind, is creating an impediment. Now if every case has to be tried till the end, if every first appeal has to be heard by the courts, if every matter transcends itself into coming to the Supreme Court, 200 years, 500 years will also not see the end of this litigation," he said. Justice Kaul, therefore urged the judiciary to think out of the box and also utilise tools available within the legal system like plea bargaining, lok adalats and mediation, to ensure that cases are resolved at the outset.He was speaking at the valedictory function of the first All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet, organised by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi."We often in our routineness of work, in our routineness of thought process, don't even utilise the tools which are available whether it's under the Civil Procedure Code or the Criminal Procedure Code...The sheer volume of pendency, to my mind, is creating an impediment," he said..He also stressed on the importance of doing things differently to deliver justice better and interacting with stakeholders to better understand how problems can be tackled.Speaking about the process being the punishment, he said that keeping people behind bars was not the ultimate solution."This is the mindset of the prosecution, this is also the mindset of all our brethren at times, ‘Prosecution is not going to do its job, I know this fellow has done this, let me keep him behind bars for the time period. I can, even if I am not able to convict him’. That is not a solution,” Justice Kaul said.Instead, he proposed that the prosecution take a more inventive approach. He recommended using technology and manpower to make forensic science facilities more efficient so that the prosecution could take a more scientific approach in trials.The mechanisms of plea bargaining, lok adalats and mediation, according to Justice Kaul, were critical in delivering better and faster justice. He stated that the procedures would not only help to resolve issues quickly, but would also assist courts and litigants by saving time and making the process less tedious. He asserted that if plea bargaining and mediation worked together, the bouquets of criminal and civil cases resulting from family disputes could be quickly disposed of.He encouraged judges and the defence system to consciously make stakeholders aware of the mechanism of plea bargaining. It was his opinion that an accused who has actually committed the offence would opt for a plea bargain and bring an end to litigation.He also expressed concern about the country's growing criminal litigation and underlined the importance of educating individuals about civil litigation."People look to the civil and criminal ramifications of it and feel going through a suit trial may take its own time," he stated..A procedure for adjudicating cases with sentences of less than ten years so that courts might focus on more heinous crimes was also proposed by him.Speaking on the low conviction rate in Indian courts, he lamented the predicament of people who spend time in jail before being acquitted, emphasizing that a judge claiming that the accused would get away was no cause to keep him in jail."See, it is not our job to be the prosecutor. It is the prosecutor's job to be the prosecutor. We can't do anything unless the prosecution performs its job. To say , 'people get away so we should keep them behind bars', through this convoluted process, if I may say so with respect, is not the solution," he remarked..Stating that the work of legal services authorities should be practical, he highlighted that many convicts were not being apprised of the option of an application for remission and instead were filing appeals with no real merit in them."Utilise the processes available and the alternatives to the processes in the system to ultimately see a reasonable resolution to a dispute, because there is no idealistic situation. We are not in a position to give some kind of an ideal solution, but give a practical solution to the whole problem obviously," he said..Lastly, he urged everyone to keep adding on to the justice system by delivering practical solutions through innovation..As of August 1, 71,411 cases were pending before the Supreme Court, while 59,57,454 cases were pending before the country's twenty-five High Courts.With almost 10 lakh pending cases, Allahabad High Court has the most. The High Court of Rajasthan has just over 6 lakh cases while the Bombay High Court follows with just under 6 lakh cases..[Watch the valedictory ceremony below]