The central government, it seems, is looking to introduce some changes in the working of the subordinate judiciary..The topic of the All India Judicial Services (AIJS) was discussed in a meeting held on Monday that was attended by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, among others. This was tweeted by Secretary of the Law Ministry’s Department of Justice, Snehlata Shrivastava..While it remains unclear as to what exactly was discussed during the meeting, it is not the first time the feasibility of introducing the AIJS has been mulled upon..The Law Commission itself had recommended the formation of AIJS in its 116th Report released back in 1986. In fact, the Supreme Court had, in 1992, ruled that the recommendations of the Law Commission “be examined expeditiously and implemented as early as possible” by the Centre..More recently, in a PIL filed in the Delhi High Court by Ashwini Upadhyay, it came to light that the Centre and the judiciary has been in a deadlock over the issue. The Law Ministry’s response in the PIL states no progress has been made since the topic was discussed at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Court held in April 2015..The reply also stated that some states and high courts were not in favour of the AIJS altogether, while others recommended changes to the Centre’s proposal. Given the lack of consensus on the issue, the Centre has been holding consultative meetings, the outcome of which is not clear as of now..As of July last year, there exist 4,905 vacancies in the lower courts, as against a sanctioned strength of 21,324 posts..On a related note, Shrivastava also tweeted that a “Justice Clock” is being set up at Jaisalmer House, the headquarters of the Department of Justice, to track the pendency of cases in the subordinate judiciary..Whether this move will incentivize lower courts to increase their rate of disposal, only time will tell. As per the latest National Judicial Data Grid statistics, there are 2.34 crore cases pending in the subordinate courts alone. This marks a significant decrease from the 2.81 crore cases pending as of July 2016, recorded in the Supreme Court’s Indian Judiciary Report.
The central government, it seems, is looking to introduce some changes in the working of the subordinate judiciary..The topic of the All India Judicial Services (AIJS) was discussed in a meeting held on Monday that was attended by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, among others. This was tweeted by Secretary of the Law Ministry’s Department of Justice, Snehlata Shrivastava..While it remains unclear as to what exactly was discussed during the meeting, it is not the first time the feasibility of introducing the AIJS has been mulled upon..The Law Commission itself had recommended the formation of AIJS in its 116th Report released back in 1986. In fact, the Supreme Court had, in 1992, ruled that the recommendations of the Law Commission “be examined expeditiously and implemented as early as possible” by the Centre..More recently, in a PIL filed in the Delhi High Court by Ashwini Upadhyay, it came to light that the Centre and the judiciary has been in a deadlock over the issue. The Law Ministry’s response in the PIL states no progress has been made since the topic was discussed at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Court held in April 2015..The reply also stated that some states and high courts were not in favour of the AIJS altogether, while others recommended changes to the Centre’s proposal. Given the lack of consensus on the issue, the Centre has been holding consultative meetings, the outcome of which is not clear as of now..As of July last year, there exist 4,905 vacancies in the lower courts, as against a sanctioned strength of 21,324 posts..On a related note, Shrivastava also tweeted that a “Justice Clock” is being set up at Jaisalmer House, the headquarters of the Department of Justice, to track the pendency of cases in the subordinate judiciary..Whether this move will incentivize lower courts to increase their rate of disposal, only time will tell. As per the latest National Judicial Data Grid statistics, there are 2.34 crore cases pending in the subordinate courts alone. This marks a significant decrease from the 2.81 crore cases pending as of July 2016, recorded in the Supreme Court’s Indian Judiciary Report.
