Law ministry enlists national law universities to tackle backlog in 100 districts

The Union Law Ministry has asked the country’s national law universities to help clear the mountain of pending criminal cases in the districts where courts are most overloaded.

At a video conference on Wednesday, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal met vice-chancellors of 19 national law universities (NLUs) from 16 states to launch what the ministry called a nationwide, research-based mission aimed at the 100 judicial districts with the highest pendency. More than 5.8 crore cases are pending in courts across India, most of them in district and subordinate courts, and these 100 districts account for more than half of the district court backlog.

Students in the courts

The universities have been asked to use their pro bono clubs, researchers and students to study pending cases on the ground in the chosen districts, work out the main causes of delay in each, and suggest practical fixes tailored to each district.

The meeting discussed weeding out cases that no longer serve any purpose, mapping cases, alternative dispute resolution, tighter control of adjournments, plea bargaining, mediated settlements and wider use of summary trials. The Secretary of the Department of Justice and the heads of the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the National Crime Records Bureau attended in person.

According to the ministry, all the vice-chancellors promised to take part. Meghwal tied the effort to the government’s goal of a developed India by 2047 and said the country needs a justice system that is “accessible, efficient, affordable, fair, speedy and accountable”.

The ministry has not yet named the 100 districts or the universities involved, or set a timeline.