{"id":43902,"date":"2024-12-07T08:28:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-07T02:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=43902"},"modified":"2025-05-06T06:41:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T01:11:14","slug":"supreme-courts-approach-to-prioritising-backlog-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-courts-approach-to-prioritising-backlog-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court&#8217;s Approach to Prioritising Cases: Tackling Case Backlog"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>Understanding Special Leave Petition (SLP) in India<\/li>\n<li>Key Reforms Under CJI Sanjiv Khanna<\/li>\n<li>Challenges and Outcomes of the Reforms Under CJI Sanjiv Khanna<\/li>\n<li>The Supreme Court&#8217;s Case Lifecycle<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court of India (SC) faces a substantial backlog, with over 82,000 cases pending.<\/li>\n<li>The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has introduced reforms to manage this challenge, focusing on prioritising Special Leave Petitions (SLP) for expedited resolution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Understanding Special Leave Petition (SLP) in India:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Meaning: <\/strong>The SC is vested with extraordinary jurisdiction under <strong>Article 136<\/strong> of the Constitution, granting it the power to entertain SLPs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key features:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Scope:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Allows appeals from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence, or order made by any court or tribunal in India<\/strong>, <i>except military tribunals or courts-martial.<\/i><\/li>\n<li>Can challenge interim or final orders, including interlocutory judgments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Purpose: <\/strong>Invoked when substantial questions of law or instances of gross injustice arise.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Discretionary power: <\/strong>The SC has the authority to accept or decline SLPs. Filing an SLP is not a matter of right but is contingent upon the SC\u2019s discretion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eligibility to file an SLP:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Any aggrieved party dissatisfied with:\n<ul>\n<li>A High Court judgment or decree.<\/li>\n<li>Refusal of a High Court to grant a certificate of appeal to the SC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Applicable to both civil and criminal matters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Time limits for filing an SLP:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Against High Court (HC) judgments:<\/strong> Within 90 days from the date of the judgment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Against refusal of a certificate of fitness for appeal: <\/strong>Within 60 days from the date of refusal by the HC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Procedure for filing an SLP:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Filing the petition: <\/strong>The SLP must outline all relevant facts and grounds for the SC to evaluate the appeal. It must include a declaration that no similar petition has been filed in any HC.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Role of Advocate-on-Record: <\/strong>The petition must be duly signed by an Advocate-on-Record, authorised to represent clients in the SC.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Initial review by the SC: <\/strong>The SC hears the petitioner to evaluate the merits of the case. If deemed fit, the opposing party is allowed to respond via a counter affidavit.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decision to grant leave: <\/strong>The SC determines if the case warrants further hearing. If the petition lacks merit, the Court may dismiss the SLP outright.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance of SLP:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Extraordinary relief:<\/strong> Provides aggrieved parties an avenue for justice even when no statutory right of appeal exists.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Upholding rule of law: <\/strong>Ensures substantial questions of law or grave injustices are addressed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Judicial discretion:<\/strong> Balances the SC&#8217;s workload while maintaining focus on critical legal issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Key Reforms Under CJI Sanjiv Khanna:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Focus on special leave petitions (SLPs):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>SLPs overview:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>SLPs are appeals against High Court (HC) orders that require the SC\u2019s permission to be heard.<\/li>\n<li>The SC <strong>accepts only 14% of SLPs filed,<\/strong> but their dismissal significantly reduces pendency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revised schedule:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays:<\/strong> Reserved for &#8220;after notice miscellaneous matters&#8221; to decide on admitting or dismissing SLPs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mondays and Fridays:<\/strong> Focused on fresh cases requiring detailed hearings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Administrative circular:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Issued five days into CJI Khanna\u2019s tenure, the circular<strong> restricts regular hearings <\/strong>on Wednesdays and Thursdays.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The aim is to prioritise quick decisions on admission-stage cases<\/strong>, clearing the backlog more efficiently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Challenges and Comparison of Reforms Under CJI Sanjiv Khanna:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Impact on case pendency:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>While brief hearings for SLPs (average 1 minute 33 seconds) reduce delays, full hearings for admitted cases take over four years.<\/li>\n<li>Regular hearing matters, already pending for years, face further delays under this approach.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Comparison with previous CJIs\u2019 strategies:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Justice D.Y. Chandrachud (2022\u20132024):<\/strong> Focused on long-pending constitutional and regular hearing matters. Reduced pendency of regular cases from 28,682 to 22,000.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Justice U.U. Lalit (2022): <\/strong>Emphasised constitutional matters during his short tenure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>The Supreme Court&#8217;s Case Lifecycle:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Filing and registration: <\/strong>Cases are filed by an Advocate-on-Record (AoR) through physical or e-Filing systems. Verified for defects (e.g., incorrect details, missing signatures) by the SC Registry, led by the Secretary General.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scheduling and hearing process:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Miscellaneous days (Mondays and Fridays): <\/strong>Initial hearings for fresh matters.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Non-miscellaneous days (Tuesdays to Thursdays):<\/strong> Cases requiring detailed consideration, including Constitution Bench hearings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Admission and final verdict: <\/strong>Post-admission, cases undergo detailed final hearings before a verdict is delivered.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>CJI Khanna\u2019s strategy reflects a shift toward resolving admission-stage cases swiftly to curb rising pendency.<\/li>\n<li>While this approach accelerates decisions on SLPs, it raises concerns about delays in long-pending regular hearing matters.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The SC\u2019s ongoing administrative and judicial reforms highlight its commitment to balancing efficiency and justice.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What is the reason for the high number of pending cases in the Indian judiciary?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There are several factors that contribute to the total number of pending cases in Indian courts: Procedural delays (Cumbersome legal procedures), repeated adjournments, and delays in evidence submission can lengthen the legal process, resulting in cases languishing in the courts.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What is the e-Courts Mission Mode Project?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Government of India has launched the E-Courts Integrated Mission Mode Project for the computerisation of District and subordinate courts with the objective of improving access to justice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/explained-how-the-supreme-court-hears-cases-9710948\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Explained: How the Supreme Court hears cases<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The CJI Sanjiv Khanna has introduced reforms to manage this challenge, focusing on prioritising Special Leave Petitions (SLP) for resolving substantial backlog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}