Fund Crunch in Lower Courts: HC Raps Delhi Govt, Says it Wants to Kill Golden Egg-laying Goose
File photo of the Delhi High court.
The Delhi High Court Wednesday rapped the AAP government for not sanctioning funds for the basic requirements of district courts, which are generating huge revenues through collection of fines, traffic challans and court fees, saying that it wanted to kill golden egg-laying goose.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad remarked, Rs 115 crore collected through virtual traffic fines by district courts. What do you (Delhi government) want? You want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg? The high court was informed by Reetesh Singh, Officer of Special Duty (Examination), that in 2018-19, the district courts here collected fines of Rs 80 crore and sold court fees worth 90 crore, which were deposited with the Delhi government.
In 2019-20, fines of Rs 89 crore were collected and court fees of Rs 102 crore were sold and from July 2019 to October 12, 2020, traffic challans of Rs 115 crore have been collected by the traffic courts. To this, the bench said, Despite the aforesaid finances generated by the district courts, they are being starved of funds for the basic requirements of running a court which cannot be countenanced.
The bench also castigated the Delhi government for making the subordinate judiciary run from pillar to post to get funds sanctioned for recruitment of supporting staff which has come to a grinding halt, and asked whether it wanted judicial officers to conduct proceedings from chaupals'.
The high court noted that 150 judicial officers of are due to be posted in a couple of months and their courts will not be functional without the support staff. It directed its administrative side to release the requisite Rs 2.52 crore from its budget to the district courts without any delay for the recruitment.
The bench said it was dipping into the high court's fund as the government has not provided the amount. The bench made it clear that the amount be returned to the Delhi High Court by the AAP government on or before December 31.
"150 judicial officers are waiting to be posted in courts. Thanks to no support and no staff. Let the Delhi government send the staff on deputation to district courts. Or you want these judges to conduct proceedings by sitting at chaupals (public space), the bench said. It observed that the judiciary was not doing anything in this regard as it was patiently waiting for the Delhi government to release the funds. You (Delhi government) did not do anything. Probably you took it as a weakness," it said.
The high court noted that the recruitment process was being made in pursuance to the Supreme Court's directions and let the apex court know how much resistance was being faced by them from the Delhi government. Thankfully the high court has its own funds. You are making the subordinate judiciary run from pillar to post (for funds), the bench told the counsel for the Delhi government.
The bench said several orders have been passed for facilities to district courts for efficient discharge of judicial obligations of judges and the pending sanctions or revalidations including providing adequate support staff and giving official vehicles to them to commute to court. However, all these issues have been hanging fire for a fairly long time. The high court had earlier also directed the Delhi government to process the pending sanctions of other branches of district courts but the sanctions are still pending at the executive's end. Delhi government counsel Santosh Tripathi submitted that he had apprised the authorities about the orders passed by the high court in the case and stated that he be granted two weeks time and the matter will be placed before the Cabinet.
