CASE PENDENCY HAS BECOME A CHALLENGE, SAYS LAW MINISTER

NEW DELHI: Pendency of cases has become a “challenge”, Union law minister Kiren Rijiju said on Saturday as he called for effective delivery of justice to the common man.

“People keep on raising one issue, the pendency of the cases, which has become such a challenge for all of us,” said Rijiju, addressing an event organised by the Bar Council of India to felicitate Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.

The minister further pointed out that it is the subordinate judiciary where the issue of case pendency requires to be looked into with urgency, as when a person from a humble background expects justice, he/she gives up everything for the sake of justice.

“And if that justice gets delayed, then it is a big question mark on all of us... So, we have to ensure that last mile person, the common man, must be given the priority when we talk about justice delivery mechanism in our country,” he added.

During the event, the law minister also commended the Supreme Court and the judiciary for taking up several important cases and delivering judgments despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rijiju said that in the last Cabinet meeting, the government took some important decisions for supporting infrastructure building, especially in the lower courts, and sanctioned at one go for the creation of critical infrastructure for courtrooms, lawyers’ halls, toilets, digital rooms and others. “The government will always try to ensure not only the independence of the judiciary but also to support, to strengthen the Indian judiciary.”