Law minister for discipline, accountability in all courts

Source: Hindustan Times dated 16.08.2019

... There should be a fast-track approach for disposal of old appeals. Take up 10-year-old cases in priority and then come to five years’ old --  RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD, Union law minister.

Ravi Shankar Prasad stresses need to fast-track approach for disposal of old cases.

Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday laid stress on taking in-house corrective measures to ensure discipline, judicial propriety and accountability in all courts, and criticised some of high courts for procrastinating PILS.

Prasad was speaking on the occasion of Independence Day in the apex court lawn where Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi unfurled the national flag in the presence of other dignitaries, including Attorney General KK Venugopal and senior advocates. Prasad said there should be a fasttrack approach for disposal of old appeals as criminal and civil appeals of 1980s are still pending in high courts.

“The way PIL is being detained in some states by the high courts as if they are running parallel to their state governance. What should be done?...equally important is that in-house corrective measures should be there including in the apex court to ensure discipline, judicial propriety and accountability,” he said.

Prasad added, “I see criminal appeals of 1982/83 still pending in the high courts. I don’t want to take names but they are pending in high courts. Civil appeals of 1977/78 are pending and even the first appeals are pending...there should be a fast-track approach for disposal of old appeals. Take up 10-year-old cases in priority and then come to five years’ old.”

The law minister also said the way some of the judgements were passed by some of the high courts was “arbitrary”. “Some judges, just two days to their retirement, give judgements of questionable validity and sit on television for three days to justify it. I don’t think it should be done. there has to be a forum,” he said. The Centre has no business to interfere as far as adjudication process of justice was concerned.

Talking about infrastructure, Prasad said that the proposal of setting up of 1,023 special fasttrack courts to deal with cases under the POCSO Act will be done. He further said that a committee has been set up to ensure security of lawyers.

Attorney General Venugopal also expressed concern over the pending criminal and civil appeals and said there should be an intermediate court of appeal between the Supreme Court and the HCS in each of the four regions — east, west, north and south — of the country. “When I was looking at the cause list of the Supreme Court yesterday, 30 civil appeals were there which were pending from 2007, which is about 12 years. Just imagine such cases are also pending in high court and the district courts, maybe for 9 or 10 years. We require a bold person today to address the court system in our country,” said the law officer. There should be distinct judges constituting the court of appeal and the collegium system of the apex court should be the basis of their appointment too, he added.