Justice MR Shah to govt: Avoid filing unwanted appeals in courts

With the government being the biggest litigant in courts, Supreme Court judge Justice MR Shah on Monday said the government should avoid filing unnecessary appeals in courts to reduce the growing pendency of cases. Shah was in city along with another Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy for the inauguration of the new building for government law officers on the Gujarat High Court campus.

"State is a party to 70-80 per cent of the litigations and on several occasions, it has been found that unnecessary appeals have been filed by various departments on issues which are already settled by earlier judgments. The appeals are not required at all, but at the department level, nobody wants to take a risk and responsibility, which ultimately adds to the burden of the courts," Justice Shah said.

He suggested that a high-level committee under the chairmanship of a retired high court judge and consisting of principal secretaries and secretaries of departments should be constituted as part of the state litigation policy to take a call on whether an appeal is to be preferred or not. Justice Shah said more emphasis should be there on settling disputes at pre-litigation stage and through mediation.

Justice Reddy, while addressing a gathering of retired and sitting Supreme Court and high court judges, said the focus should be on alternative modes on dispute redressal for bringing down the pendency of cases.

CM Vijay Rupani, who inaugurated the building, said his government is trying to create world-class infrastructure for ensuring faster disposal of cases and easy availability of justice for the citizens. Meanwhile, advocate general Kamal Trivedi informed the gathering that PM Narendra Modi has expressed his best wishes for the new infrastructure for government lawyers.