The year 2022 saw the Ministry of Law and Justice bringing some new significant changes along with improvising many schemes for the Judicial services. It has also facilitated justice to common man through a plethora of initiatives.
Department of Justice which is a part of Ministry of Law & Justice is one of the oldest Ministries of the Government of India. It was till the year 2009, that the department of Justice was a part of Ministry of Home Affairs.
Post 2009, it was thought that in view of the workload and formulation of several judicial policies and programmes a separate Department namely Department of Justice should be carved out from MHA and placed under the charge of Secretary to Government of India.
After this was accepted , it started working from 1st January, 2010 under the Ministry of Law & Justice.
The functions of the Department of Justice include the appointment, resignation and removal of the Chief Justice of India, Judges of the Supreme Court of India, Chief Justices and Judges of the High Courts and their service matters. In addition, the Department implements important schemes for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary, setting up of Special Courts for speedy trial and disposal of cases of sensitive nature (Fast Track Special Court for cases of rape and POCSO Act), E-court Project on computerization of various courts across the country, legal aid to poor and access to justice, financial assistance to National Judicial Academy for providing training to the Judicial Officers of the country.
Appointment and transfer of Judges
The year 2022 saw appointment of about 165 High Court Judges which is highest number of appointments made in any calendar year. In the order of appointments High Court of Allahabad (13), Andhra Pradesh (14), Bombay (19), Calcutta (16), Chhattisgarh (3), Delhi (17), Gauhati (2), Himachal Pradesh (2), Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (4), Jharkhand (1), Karnataka (6), Kerala (1), Madhya Pradesh (6), Madras (4), Orissa (6), Patna (11), Punjab and Haryana (21), Rajasthan (2), Telangana (17).
There were 38 Additional Judges who were made permanent in High Courts.The High Court of Allahabad (10), Bombay (4), Calcutta (6), Himachal Pradesh (1), Karnataka (3), Kerala (4), Madras (9), Manipur (1).
Also 8 Chief Justices in total were appointed in the High Courts of Gauhati , Himachal Pradesh , Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh , Karnataka , Madras, Telangana , Rajasthan , Uttarakhand . As per the data. 2 Chief Justices were transferred from one High Court to another and 6 Judges of High Courts were transferred from one High Court to another.
Tele-Law
Year 2022 saw the Department of Justice under AzadiKaAmritMahotsav, organizing a number of events including reaching the unreached, to promote access to pre- litigation by advising people for rightfully claiming their entitlements with timely redressal of their difficulties.
The project saw about 52000 beneficiaries been reached out through 4200 awareness sessions and nearly 17000 were provided with legal advice and consultation by dedicated pool of Panel Lawyers through video/teleconferencing facilities under Tele-Law.
To maximize outreach Tele-Law on Wheels campaign was also rolled out where special Tele-Law branded Mobile Vans travelled in different parts of the country to spread the message of Tele-Law through playing of videos, radio jingle and distribution of Tele-Law leaflets.
The Ministry also organized a mega event which was attended by more than 65,000 participants. On this occasion 126 best performing front-line functionaries were felicitated whose relentless efforts in the far flung areas of the country has helped Tele law reach glorious heights.
A Tele-Law Mobile App has also been launched for enabling seamless connect of beneficiaries with Panel Lawyers. Various print and digital knowledge products were released which includes Tele-Law Brochure, Tele-Law Movies, Tele-Law Logo and Tele-Law Mascot to ensure citizen participation.
Tele-Law services are available at 75,000 CSCs/Gram Panchayats in 669 Districts (including 112 Aspirational Districts as per NITI Aayog data) across 36 States/UTs of the country. As on 30thNovember, 2021, there are 12,70,135 total cases registered, of which advice has been enabled to 12,50,911 beneficiaries.
Year 2022-2023 the Tele-Law has been expanded to cover 1 lakh Gram Panchayats across 755 districts (including 112 aspirational districts) in 36 states and UTs. Out of 800+ Lawyers engaged to provide pre litigation advice, each district has been allocated with one panel lawyer positioned in the front offices at the district level through the legal services authorities.
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)
The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) this year participated in the Republic Day Parade, 2022 through a float on LokAdalat named EkMutthiAasman which was the theme of Tableau showcasing inclusive Legal System through LokAdalat depicting five guiding principles of LokAdalats – Accessible, Definitive, Affordable, Equitable and Timely – Justice for all.
NALSA this year organized the very first All India Meet of District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) on 30th and 31st July 2022 at Vigyan Bhawan which inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister in the presence of the then Hon’ble Chief Justice & Patron in Chief of NALSA Shri N V Ramana.
It was attended by Judges of Supreme Court of India, Minister of State for Law and Justice (Shri S. P. Singh Baghel), Chief Justices of High Courts, Executive Chairpersons of the State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) and Chairpersons of the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs).
The Hon’ble Prime Minister also released a commemorative postal stamp on the ‘Right to free legal aid’. The meet was attended by 1000+ participants from across 676 DLSAs and 37 SLSAs in the country.
The e-Courts Mission Mode Project:
The e-Court Integrated Mission Mode Project was launched this year by the ministry with the objective of improving the access to justice by the use of technology. Phase II of the project started in 2015 with an outlay of Rs.1,670 crore out of which a sum of Rs.1668.43 crore has been released by the Government. Under Phase II, 18,735 District & Subordinate Courts have been computerized so far.
As part of WAN project, 2973 of 2992 court complexes (99.3% sites) have been provided with 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps bandwidth spped.
With the usage of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), the lawyers and litigants can access case status information of 21.44 crore cases and more than 19.40 crore orders/judgments.
From the Covid lockdown period, more than 2 crore virtual hearings have been held by the Courts across India, making India a world leader in virtual hearings.
Live Streaming of court proceedings have started in Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna and Madhya Pradesh High Courts and Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, thus allowing interested persons to join the proceedings.
21 virtual courts in 17 States / UTs have been set up to try traffic offences. These courts have heard more than 2.21 crore cases and realized Rs. 325 crore in fines. Delhi High Court has started 34 Digital Courts to hear cheque bounce cases under the Section 138 of NI Act.
The process of eFiling system has been rolled out for the electronic filing of legal papers. This allows the lawyers to access and upload documents related to the cases from any location 24X7 which makes coming to the court for filing of papers unnecessary.
619 eSewaKendras have been rolled out for helping the lawyer or litigant who needs any kind of assistance ranging from information to facilitation and eFiling.
Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC):
The Union Government of India started a centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including 389 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts in October, 2019 to provide speedy justice to the victims of rape and POCSO Act through expeditious disposal of related cases. The scheme was initially for a period of 1 year, but was later increased.
Rs. 186.93 crore released during the current financial year up-to 10/12/2022.The scheme has been continued up to 31st March, 2023 at a total outlay of Rs.1572.86 crore with Rs.971.70 crore as central share.
Through this scheme 733 FTSCs with 413 exclusive POCSO Courts have been operationalized in 28 States/UTs which have disposed of more than 1,24,000 cases (up to October, 2022).which have ensured the Nations commitment to champion the cause of safety and security of women and girl child.
The FTSCs are dedicated courts which have helped in fast tracking delivery of justice to the helpless victims of sexual offences; in creating a deterrence framework for sexual offenders,
Launch of Gram Nyayalaya online Portal
A Gram Nyayalaya online portal has also been created, wherein the States/High Courts upload data relating to Gram Nyayalayas, including case disposal, on monthly basis.
National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms:
The ministry of Justice had come up with the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up in August 2011. And continues to work till date with the focus on improvement of administration of justice and justice delivery and legal reforms in the entire country and to address the diverse needs of all sections of stakeholders.
It has been working by increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system, and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities.
The Ministry of Justice, under its National Mission has worked under several parameters including the implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary.
The CSS aims at increasing the availability of suitable number of Court Halls, Residential Accommodations for Judges / Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts all over the country including at District, Sub-District, Taluka, Tehsil and Gram Panchayat and Village levels.
The Government has approved the continuance of this CSS for a period of 5 years i.e. from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a financial outlay of Rs.9000 crore (including central share of Rs.5307 crore) and also introduced some new features like provision of Lawyers Halls, toilet complexes and digital computer rooms for the convenience of lawyers & litigants, besides court halls and residential units.
As per the information made available by the High Courts, there are 21,159 court halls available, a significant increase as compared to the 15,818 available court halls in 2014. As far as the Residential Units are concerned,18,557 Residential units are available against the current working strength of 19,235 Judges/Judicial Officers. There were 10,211 Residential Units available in 2014. In addition, 2673 court halls and 1662 residential units are currently under construction as per Nyaya Vikas portal.
Launch of Nyaya Vikas 2.0 which was as an online tool for monitoring of construction projects was launched by Hon’ble Minister of Law & Justice on 11th June, 2018. The Nyaya Vikas web portal and mobile app have been upgraded and version 2.0 has been made available for public online from 1st April, 2020 with enhanced capabilities and functionalities, which has been developed based on the feedback from different State Users, with the assistance of NRSC, ISRO. As on 6282 court halls (completed, under construction and proposed), 5385 residential units (completed, under construction and proposed) are geotagged.
Another very significant role played by the Ministry of Justice has been the filling up of Vacancies in District and Subordinate Courts.
The Constitutional framework says that the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate courts is the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned. The Supreme Court, through a judicial order in Malik Mazhar case, has devised a process and time frame to be followed for the filling up of vacancies in subordinate judiciary.
Department of Justice has been taking up the matter of filling up of vacant positions in District & Subordinate Courts with the States and High Courts. Department of Justice hosts a MIS web-portal on its website for reporting and monitoring of sanctioned and working strength, and vacancies of Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts on monthly basis.
This enables the policy makers to get monthly judicial data.
Pendency in Courts
The Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases for improving justice in line with the mandate under Article 39A of the Constitution. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, established by the Union Government, has adopted many strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts and Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District, High Court and Supreme Court level, emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases. As on 6thDecember 2022, there are 69,598 cases pending in the Supreme Court. The pendency in respect of High Courts and District & Subordinate Courts, as on 6thDecember 2022 stands at 59,57,704and 4,28,21,378 respectively.
Online Reporting on Time taken for Disposal:
The Department has hosted MIS portal for reporting Average Time Taken for Disposal of Cases on its website to record the responses by all High Courts pertaining to time taken, on an average, in disposal of criminal and civil cases.
This in compliance of observations made by Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Grievances, Personnel and Law & Justice to maintain record of time taken in disposal of cases in courts.
Reduction in Pendency through arrears committees:
Arrears Committees have been set up in High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years. Arrears Committees have been set up under District Judges too. Arrears Committee has been constituted in the Supreme Court to formulate steps to reduce pendency of cases in High Courts and District Courts. The Department of Justice developed an online portal for reporting by all High Courts regarding the compliance with Arrears Committee guidelines of the Malimath Committee Report.
To make India more Business friendly and for the Ease of Doing Business a conducive environment has been created for investment and business, where continued efforts have been made by implementing reforms to enable expeditious enforcement of contracts to improved Ease of Doing Business various reforms have been under taken by Department of Justice in coordination with eCommittee of Supreme Court of India and High Courts of Delhi and Mumbai.
To handle commercial cases, 35 dedicated Commercial Courts in Delhi, 6 in Mumbai, 10 in Bengaluru and 2 in Kolkata have been operationalized. In the year 2022, 13 Dedicated Commercial Courts have been operationalized in Delhi to exclusively deal with commercial disputes, bringing the total number of Dedicated Commercial Courts in Delhi to 35.
Special benches at various High Courts have been made to deal with high value commercial disputes above 500 crore, designated Special Courts for Infrastructure project contracts disputes as per Section 20B of the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, implementation of three adjournment rules (vide Colour Banding facility), use of ICT, e-filing, random and automated allocation of cases, use of electronic case management tools by Judges and lawyers, e-summons, etc.
It has also taken initiatives to link property registration with court proceedings. Twenty-Six States (UTs) Governments have received clearances from their respective High Courts for linkage of land records and registration database with NJDG. This would help in quick disposal of land disputes and reduce workload of the judiciary. Department of Justice has also launched the Enforcement of Contracts Portal which provides a comprehensive source of information on reforms being undertaken on the “Enforcing Contracts” parameters.
Rule of Law Index
The Rule of Law Index (ROLI) which was developed and published by World Justice Project (WJP). ROLI 2022 covers 140 countries and ranks them based on the country-specific data collected across 8 factors and 44 sub-factors. ROLI quantitatively measures rule of law-in-practice by way of survey/polling of general public and sector experts.
As per the Information available, India’s current rank in ROLI is 77 out of 140 countries assessed by the WJP. Department of Justice has been working hard with 23 stakeholder Ministry/Departments to improve India’s performance on 08 key indicators/factors and 44 sub-factors identified for the purpose.
A Coordination Committee consisting of these Ministries/Departments has been formed, which has held 13 meetings so far. Additionally, inputs were also sought from legal experts and industry regarding quantification of the improvement in qualitative / perception based parameters .
The Action Plan formulated to take the process forward involves, identification of Low Hanging fruits or parameters which are critical for score improvement, collection of details to be completed from each line M/D as per the parameters allocated, additional information to formulate a “Communication Outreach Plan” for further improvement to change the perception and relevance among people, developing an exclusive ROLI webpage on DoJ website to showcase progress undertaken, completion of information of ROLI Dashboard developed by NITI Aayog, and Release of Bi-annual ROLI newsletter.
Talking about the Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI)
The DGQI Evaluation Exercise was undertaken by NITI Aayog to assess the data preparedness of the various Ministries and Departments. This study was conducted on the Data Systems to ensure smooth processes of data generation, management and its use as being employed by the various Central Ministries/ Departments. The Department has come up with an indicative outline of roadmap to improve data preparedness and improve DGQI scores. Besides Data Management Guidelines for DoJ have been issued with the aim of developing policies, programs and practices that would control, protect and enhance the value of datasets and information reported/collected by Department of Justice.