CJI seeks introduction of review mechanism for arrears

New Delhi [India], July 27 (ANI): Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra on Friday suggested the constitution of a review mechanism to monitor pending cases and assign them methodically.
"I have requested to constitute a 'Disposal Review Mechanism'. It will be different from the arrears committee as they can meet every fortnight, look at the pendency, arrears and also batch them, group them and assign them to a particular judge or two judges depending upon the nature of the case," he said at an event here.
Acknowledging the existence of pending cases before the judiciary, CJI Misra, however, argued that every case cannot be set aside as pending, as each case has a stipulated time span.
"Each case has a specific lifespan for determining the outcome, and only if the life of a case goes beyond a particular period of time, it should be classified as an arrear," he clarified.
The Chief Justice further said that the fear of docket explosion, whereby the rate of cases registered in courts is higher than the rate of disposal of cases, has to be abandoned.
On the other hand, Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur, who addressed the gathering at the same event, highlighted the dire state of the court buildings, saying that there were over 215 dilapidated establishments across the country.
"Out of the amount that the judiciary gets, how much is spent? We should look at the grassroots level; the use of technology will reduce pendency," said Justice Lokur.
"Are we using our resources? Are we encouraging mediation? We should ask ourselves these uncomfortable and inconvenient questions. National Judicial academy should concentrate on research. We should take up suggestion given by National Judicial Academy," Lokur added.
Justice Joseph, meanwhile, urged that the retirement age for the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court (SC) judges should be increased to 70, adding that no post-retirement assignment should be taken up by retired judges. (ANI)