Over 70k cases pending in SC, 10k of them for more than 10-years: Rijiju in RS

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said via a written reply that more than 70,000 cases were pending before the Supreme Court at the moment, adding that more than 10,000 among these were those pending since more than 10 years.

New Delhi:Responding to a query via a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiu said on Thursday that the Supreme Court had more than 70,000 cases pending before it, among which more than 10,000 cases have been pending since more than a decade. 56,365 of these cases were civil ones while 15,076 were criminal cases, he further noted.

"As of August 2, as per information provided by Supreme Court of India, the total number of pending cases in Supreme Court of India are 71,411 out of which 56,365 are civil matters and 15,076 are criminal matters," the minister said. He added that among pending cases, 42,816 were pending for less than five years, while 18,134 had been pending between five and 10 years. 10,491 cases, meanwhile, had been pending for more than 10 years, the answer detailed.

Inquired whether the Centre had taken any measures to expedite the case disposal process, Rijiju noted that the issue was 'within the domain of the judiciary. "No time frame has been prescribed for disposal of various kinds of cases by the respective courts," the answer read.

"Government has no direct role in the disposal of cases in courts. Timely disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia, include the availability of an adequate number of judges and judicial officers, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, the complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, cooperation of stakeholders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures" he said in the reply.

Replying to another query, Rijiju said that 40,28,591 cases were pending at different HCs in 2016, noting the number had risen to 59,55,907 on July 29 this year - a rise of 50 percent. "The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary," he also added.