Jammu & Kashmir High Court launches action plan to dispose of cases pending for over 5 years in District Courts

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has launched an action plan to reduce the pendency of cases, especially cases that have been pending for more than five years, before district courts..According to a circular dated December 5, the action plan, which has been approved by High Court Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh, will remain applicable till September 30, 2024..The initiative aims to streamline the disposal of old cases and reduce the pendency of cases that are more than five years old. The goal is to achieve a target of having no cases that remain pending for more than five years. .The circular has detailed specific targets for case disposal by civil judges and judicial magistrates. Principal District and Sessions judges have been tasked with overseeing the process of achieving these targets. The Principal District and Sessions judges are expected to submit monthly reports to the High Court on the progress in implementing the action plan..The guidelines given in the action plan caution judicial officers against giving long, unnecessary adjournments.Further the trial court judges are now expected to be more vigilant so that they do not proceed with hearing cases where the High Court has passed an order of stay."They shall check the status of those cases online on every date. They shall themselves record the proceedings in the target cases," the circular added.Among other aspects, the High Court has also directed Principal District and Sessions judges to take measures so that hearings are not stalled on account of the transfer of a judge, or his resignation or because he goes on long leave."If a Judicial Officer proceeds on long leave or resigns or is transferred during the target year, and he is not replaced by another Judicial Officer, or in the event of amalgamation or withdrawal of a court, the Pr. District and Session Judge shall transfer the pending target cases of such Court to other competent Courts & equally distribute those cases among them as aforesaid," the circular states..Notably, a judicial officer's ability to achieve the case disposal targets would also be factored in when evaluating his performance in Annual Confidential Reports. The targets may be changed in extreme circumstances, the circular adds. However, such a change can only be carried out after consultation between the district judge and the concerned High Court judge who holds the administrative charge of the district. .Case disposal targets.As part of this action plan, district and sessions judges have been asked to prioritise the disposal of the following matters during 2023-24:a) All the cases concerning undertrial prisoners (UTPs) where the UTP has been in custody for more than five years since the date of arrest;b) All criminal cases (irrespective of involvement of UTPs) where the charge sheet has been filed on or before March 1, 2018;c) all criminal appeals that have been pending disposal for more than three years;d) all appeals filed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) that are pending disposal for more than nine months;e) all criminal revision petitions that are pending disposal for more than one year;f) all revision petitions filed against orders passed under Section 125, of the Code of Criminal Procedure (maintenance cases) that are pending disposal for more than nine months;g) all civil original suits that are pending disposal for more than five years; h) all civil matters, including guardianship petitions, that have been instituted on or before March 1, 2020;i) all civil first appeals that are pending disposal for more than five years; andj) all civil miscellaneous appeals that are pending disposal for more than one year..Various Special Courts have also been given specific targets to achieve during 2023-24, including the following:In addition to the cases normally disposed of, Special Courts set up under the Prevention of Corruption of Corruption Act have been told to decide and dispose of fifteen of the oldest cases pending before them. Special Courts hearing cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been directed to decide and dispose of the ten oldest cases before it, in addition to the cases normally disposed of. Special Courts constituted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) have been asked to decide and dispose of cases instituted before March 2023. The POCSO Courts are also expected to fast-track the hearing of cases before it and ensure that trials are completed as soon as possible, and within six months from the date of filing the chargesheet. Special Courts that deal with offences against women shall decide and dispose of all the cases pending for more than five years. Further, they also have to dispose of cases where an undertrial prisoner arrested in the case has been in custody for more than two years since the arrest. Special Courts constituted hearing cases probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have been asked to decide and dispose of the twenty oldest cases before it, in additional to the normal rate of disposal. Motor Accident Claims Tribunals have been asked to decide and dispose of all the claims involving death that are more than three years old and all the claim petitions involving injury that are more than two years old. Courts dealing with matrimonial disputes are to decide and dispose of all cases pending for more than one year. In addition to the cases it normally disposes of, family courts have also been asked to dispose of at least a hundred and fifty of its oldest cases and fifty of its oldest execution petitions. Juvenile Justice Boards have been told to decide and dispose of the inquiries pending before them within four months after the juvenile/ child is first produced before the Board. If the period of inquiry is extended, it shall not be extended beyond two months..[View Action Plan]