SC blames bureaucracy for explosion of cases

NEW DELHI: Riled by repeated breach of promise by the Centre and states to reduce government litigation, the Supreme Court on Friday said the main reason for explosion of litigation in courts was the bureaucratic reluctance to take responsibility for deciding not to file appeals.
Deciding a 44-year-old tax litigation, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Indu Malhotra said that the government’s aim should be to do justice to people and not to win cases. “The Indian legal system is reeling under a docket explosion. The government and public authorities are active contributories to this deluge,” it said. The bench also gave suggestions on reducing petition rate of the tax department before the Supreme Court which stands at 87%. A vibrant system of advance ruling can go a long way in reducing taxation litigation, it said.