Chief justice suggests out-of-court settlement of cases

Expressing concern over the increasing backlog of cases in courts and the slow rate of disposal, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan Monday said lawyers could try to settle most of the cases outside courts "as the present establishment cannot cope up".

Inaugurating the Hindi website and annual report 2006 of the district courts of Delhi, the Chief Justice of India said: "The reason for the increasing number of cases is attributed to the fact that the legal fraternity brings all cases to the court. An effort should be made by the lawyers to settle most of the cases outside the courts as the present establishment cannot cope up with the pendency."

According to the annual report 2006, more than 770,310 cases are pending in the district courts of Delhi.

Balakrishnan stressed the need for specialised courts, especially courts pertaining to family matters, but admitted that the disposable rate of cases in 2006 has declined as compared to 2005.

"In India, the judiciary is not well remunerated and there is an urgent need to have better infrastructure to cope up with the increasing work pressure," he said.

Chief Justice of Delhi High Court M.K. Sarma, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Anil Kumar along with other judges were present at the function.

"With the first phase of computerization over in the district courts, we are now aiming to bring changes like introduction of digital signatures, SMS services for lawyers and litigants and installation of CCTVs in the courts," said the chief justice of the Delhi High Court.

The number of cases filed in the courts in 2006 was 76,000 more than in 2005.

Only 279 cases were disposed in 2006.