Novel steps of MP high court to reduce pendency

JABALPUR: In a novel experiment to bring down the spiraling case disposal graph, Madhya Pradesh high court has decided to cut down lunch hour and introduce a slew of reformative measures, including new system of allocating cases/fixing next date of hearing by an auto generated system.

According to confirmed sources, a decision has been taken to bring a formal proposal to slash the lunch break between 1.30 and 2.30 by half an hour in the meeting of High Courts Rules Making Committee slated on January 18. And for enhancing the efficacy of the docket management, to ensure justice to litigants, the "new system of rationalization of assignment of cases" has made distribution of work equally among the judges an imperative pre-condition.1

According to the draft, no matter shall now remain undated. Every admission matter must bear some date either given by the court or auto generated by computers. The auto generated programme has been designed to address relative urgency of different types of cases as per the courts policy. Significantly, the left over cases or those cases which could not be taken up due to the non availability of bench concerned on any given date will be assigned auto generated returnable dates spread out from the following week in suitable lots.

The returnable dates will be notified on the high court official website and also on the list/boards for information to litigants and lawyers. It has also been decided to publish the advance draft daily list for the entire week on the previous Friday. Any urgent matter cropping up thereafter will be included in the supplementary list if need be.

And even though a section of lawyers have begun a whisper campaign, bar council of Madhya Pradesh has lauded the changes. Council president Shivendra Upadhyay has highlighted how "under the new system, listing has become more frequent and litigants waiting for years have benefited by abolition of the roster system.

Talking to TOI on Friday Upadhyay said that a computerised listing of matters and minimising human interference will be helpful in curbing corruption prevalent in the registry. The new system, he said, will also do away with the monopoly of an influential lobby of senior lawyers, who invariably got their matters listed on priority basis by using their clout. By arriving in the court before ten the new CJ is leading by example and the working of the courts have become much more punctual, a senior office claimed.

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