Government Mobilizes National Law Universities to Address Criminal Case Backlogs
The Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, has launched a focused initiative to address the massive pendency of cases in the District and Subordinate Judiciary by targeting 100 hotspot judicial districts with the highest litigation backlogs. This research-based mission comes amid a staggering 5.8 crore cases pending across courts in the country, with the majority concentrated in district and subordinate courts. The identified 100 districts alone account for over half of all district-court pendency.
Under the guidance of Union Law Minister Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, the department convened a meeting through video conferencing with Vice Chancellors of nineteen National Law Universities from sixteen states. The meeting was physically attended by the Secretary of the Department of Justice, the Director General (Awards), the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), the Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and other officials.
During discussions, various alternatives were deliberated including identifying infructuous cases, case profiling, alternative dispute resolution, management of adjournments, plea bargaining, mediation-assisted settlements, and implementing summary trial processes. The NLUs were specifically asked to utilize their pro bono clubs, researchers, and students to conduct ground-level analysis of case pendency in the selected districts and suggest possible strategies to address the issue.
As a way forward, NLUs were requested to develop a focused approach for the 100 districts based on district-specific diagnosis to identify the main causes of delay and suggest feasible mechanisms to reduce litigation pendency. All Vice Chancellors assured their active participation and willingness to serve the nation in this initiative. Law Minister Meghwal concluded by reiterating the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Viksit Bharat @2047, emphasizing the need for an accessible, efficient, cost-effective, fair, speedy, and responsive justice delivery system.