New Delhi: The pendency of cases in High Court and subordinate courts in Odisha is humongous as over 14.58 lakh civil and criminal cases have remained sub judice in the state judiciary.
According to the National Judicial Data Grid, which monitors performance of courts across the country, as many as 12,98,243 cases – 10,32,279 criminal and 2,65,964 civil cases – are pending in all the districts and taluka courts in Odisha.
While 1,60,070 cases, including 69,906 writ cases, are pending in the Orissa High Court, the state judiciary has an overall backlog of 14,58,313 cases.
Significantly, as many as 1,28,252 cases have been pending in the High Court for more than one year. In lower courts, 3,50,956 cases have been pending from 1 to 3 years while 4,606 cases are pending for more than 30 years. Similarly, 30,274 cases have been pending for more than 20 years in lower courts.
Out of the pending cases in subordinate courts, as many as 70,018 were filed by senior citizens and 76,353 by women.
The Supreme Court had June 15 asked the Orissa High Court to submit a detailed action plan for deciding on criminal appeals pending before it for a long period of time. As many as 8,884 appeals are pending with Orissa High Court for 10-20 years.
“The pendency of cases poses a challenge to the judiciary, inasmuch as right to speedy trial would also include the right to speedy disposal of appeals of those convicted. If such appeals are not taken up for hearing within a reasonable time frame, the right of appeal itself would be illusory, inasmuch as incarcerated convicts (who are denied bail) would have undergone a major part- if not whole of the period of their sentence,” the Supreme Court said.
The apex court had also asked the High Court to co-ordinate with the Director General, Prisons, in the state to compile data with respect to convicts in jails, who are awaiting hearing of their appeals.
“While compiling such data, a suitable questionnaire, eliciting information with respect to appeal numbers, (of such convicts); the provisions under which the prisoners have been convicted; the period(s) of sentence undergone, the age(s) and gender of the prisoner/convicts, their health conditions (which of them are suffering from serious/ illnesses, shall be obtained. The state legal service authorities shall assist the DG Prisons in drawing up suitable questionnaire, which shall be compiled and compared with the pendency of appeals,” the Supreme Court said.
