CJI makes plea to allot more funds to set up new courts

Chief justice of India justice KG Balakrishnan today said more funds should be allocated for setting up new courts as the country lacked sufficient number of them.

In India there is a shortage of about 85% courts, he said, adding that while China had about 1.30 lakh courts, India lacked sufficient courts with only about 14,000 subordinate courts.

Of the 4000 'Grama Nayalayas' which were to be set up in the country, only 10-15 have come up so far, he said.

In India, not a 'docket explosion', but 'docket exclusion' was taking place. People should be able to come to courts, he said in his inaugural address at the Kerala high court Day celebrations here.

The chief justice said more funds have been sought from the Planning Commission. "If more courts are not set up, people would lose faith in the judiciary," he said, adding before the situation, becomes "explosive", government should allot more funds.

Last year, 1.5 crore cases were filed in different courts in the country, he said.

Kerala high court chief justice SR Bannurmath said the pendency of cases in the High Court was 1,12,939 and 9,88,238 in subordinate courts. Of these, this year itself 68,190 main cases have been disposed of by the High Court, including 53 full bench cases.