Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Tuesday said the Supreme Court has disposed of 22,504 cases between November 9, 2022 to April 11, 2023, which was near the number of new cases filed during the same time – 22,208.
Speaking during the felicitation function of eight new judges, who were recently appointed to the Supreme Court, the CJI said during the same period, 1,04,000 cases were listed.
Taking about the difference between the new cases filed and disposed of, the CJI said the Apex Court was lagging by some 100 cases behind the schedule, but it would cover up in a couple of days.
Noting that the Supreme Court was expecting 57,000 cases to be filed in 2023, the CJI said the cases will not add to the backlog this year and will be disposed of in this year only.
He revealed that around 190-200 cases were verified daily, adding that the Apex Court was listing oldest cases as well.
The CJI said the Supreme Court has set up specialised Benches for land acquisition cases, compensation cases, arbitration and indirect tax, direct tax cases, along with criminal appeals and death references cases. All judges take up at least 10 bail and transfer applications every morning.
Noting that transparency was very important in judicial appointments at every level, CJI Chandrachud revealed that the Supreme Court was adopting an open and transparent process to appoint law clerks because they were the future lawyers.
He said this was necessary to ensure that not all law clerks came from legal families, adding that there was a need to have young lawyers without any connection.
Speaking about the examination for law clerks, he said this would test their analytical skills. The CJI said that he has directed for collation of data of top 50 judges of the country in terms of seniority.
Talking about the committee for translation of judgements, CJI Chandrachud said more than 4,000 verdicts have already been translated.
He further said that a committee for live streaming of all Constitution Bench hearings has been formed, while noting that all Constitution Bench hearings were being live streamed.
Talking about the upgradation of infrastructure, the CJI said they have constructed gender neutral toilets in the Supreme Court.
Regarding the mentioning of cases, the CJI said he spent the first half hour in the court on taking up at least 100 mentioning matters. Sometimes, the cases would reach up to 120, he added.
He said in those 30 minutes, he sent a message to the citizens across the country that if something arbitrary was being done to them, if their home was being demolished or they were being arrested arbitrarily, someone in the country was there to listen. Their applications would be taken up on an immediate basis, he assured.
CJI Chandrachud, while expressing his happiness over the Supreme Court working in full strength, said that it has been one of his missions that full strength was not aberration, but a regular feature of the Apex Court.
He shared that when he was at the Bombay High Court, he was called the ‘Dak Babu’. The CJI explained that the last judge to be inducted in a High Court or the Supreme Court was called a Dak Babu. He then said in a lighter tone that there were seven Dak Babus in the Apex Court. He then termed the CJI as a friend among the SC judges.
Speaking about his fellow judges, he said the Supreme Court Collegium was often criticised over the source of appointment and lack of diversity at the top court of the country.
He said the current judges of the Supreme Court, mostly appointed in the period between 2006 and 2011, displayed the diversity of the country, as they came from 13 diverse states and one Union Territory. As per the CJI, the cumulative experience of all Apex Court judges was 121 years.
He mentioned the ambitious projects of the Apex Court, including the e-filing of cases, which was in the pipeline.
He said the Supreme Court recently held its first-ever hackathon, which resulted in a whole gamut of new innovative ideas being shared by judges as well as lawyers. He further said that young lawyers should make optimum use of the E-SCR project, which was a free-of-cost service for the fraternity.
The event was organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).
Speaking on the occasion, SCBA President Vikas Singh said he was thankful to the CJI for not only lending a patient ear to the problems of the Bar, but also assured to fulfil the reasonable demands of the association.
He said the CJI has acknowledged that the bar was an integral part of this institution.
He added that the number of lawyers had increased manifold than Judges. Therefore, there was a dire need of space for the Advocates.
SCBA Vice-President Pradip Rai said that the Bar was extending 100 percent support to the Bench. He said every decision taken in the courtroom had the potential to change the fate of the nation.
Calling Justice B.R. Gavai as the friend of the Bar, the Senior Advocate said that Covid-19 taught the world the importance of being fit.
Calling the CJI as the national hero of young lawyers and interns, the SCBA VP said that he had a belief that they could not get in the last 70 years, they would get it now under the able leadership of CJI Chandrachud.
Rai said former CJI T.S. Thakur allotted space for women lawyers, while ex-CJI N.V. Ramana gave them the utility space. Now, the Bar was pinning all its hopes on CJI Chandrachud, he added.
The SCBA organised the felicitation function of eight Supreme Court judges, including Justice Dipankar Datta, Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Justice Manoj Misra, Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Aravind Kumar in the Auditorium of the Supreme Court.