The Supreme Court of India is the final authority to decide the legal validity of any case, law, regulation or decision. Their interpretation of the law is binding on every authority, people and organisation. They are supreme protectors and guardians of rule of law in India. India’s social, economic, political and sometimes even international policies are moulded according to the legal interpretation of the Apex Court. So, it is highly imperative that this premium institution works efficiently and fulfils the aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians.
New CJI At Work
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was sworn in as the 49th Chief Justice of India (CJI) on 27 August 2022. Just after assuming charge, CJI UU Lalit is in total action mode. His overhaul reform process in just a few days has set the tone of his tenure. He seems to have done his homework to completely transform the administrative functioning of the Court.
Reports suggest that the Supreme Court heard about 600 cases on a single day under the new CJI UU Lalit. Nearly 900 cases were listed on 29 August 2022. Out of which, around 592 were heard for the first time. The hearing was taken after the administrative decision of CJI UU Lalit to increase the listing of cases per bench in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has increased the average number of daily cases listed per bench to 60 from earlier 30. The 100% increase in the cause list is significant considering the pendency of cases in the Apex Court.
As the Master of Roaster, CJI has the discretionary authority to take administrative decisions of the Court. CJI has taken this transformative decision within a few days of taking charges taken in the light of his earlier pledge.
In the farewell speech organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association for outgoing CJI NV Ramana, Justice Lalit had indicated to bring overhaul change in the Court system. He announced three major reforms. First, he will bring more transparency to the listing system. Second, a system will be envisaged for freely mentioning urgent matters before respective benches. And, third, he will strive to have one Constitution Bench functioning throughout the year.
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Urgent Reform in Administrative Functioning of the Supreme Court
Union Minister of Law, Kiren Rijiju earlier this month informed the Rajya Sabha that a total of 71,411 cases are pending as of August 22, 2022, in the Supreme Court of India. Out of the total pending cases, 56,365 are civil matters and 15,076 are criminal. Moreover, about 10,491 cases are pending for over a decade and about 18,134 cases are pending for 5 to 10 years.
If the Supreme Court of India is not able to fulfil its intended obligations on time, then the grimming situation of High Courts, Lower Courts and Subordinate Courts can’t be imagined. As most of the cases are decided by a trial court, the cases reached by the Supreme Court are mostly appeals. Most of the matters that reach the Supreme Court are based on the legality of any statutory and/or constitutional provisions. Despite the defined procedure of law, the Apex Court is not able to dispose it on time.
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In the age of Judicial Activism and Judicial Adventurism, the Supreme Court often finds itself engaged in ‘urgent’ hearing cases and kills its time. Most politically motivated cases reach the Court in the form of PIL and displace the years-old cases in the backlog.
CJI UU Lalit’s decision to increase the cases per bench will double the pace of disposal of matters. Further, his pledge to bring transparency in the listing of cases will help in reducing judicial activism. A system should be envisaged to take the urgent filing of cases to a dedicated bench more transparently and impartially. CJI’s early administrative decisions have developed a hope that he might bring overhaul change in the functioning of the Supreme Court.
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