48 lakh cases pending in Maharashtra: Justice Chandrachud

AURANGABAD: Supreme Court Justice D Y Chandrachud on Saturday pitched for digitalisation of court records and cited examples of injustice as well as delay in justice. He said that there was cause for introspection and self- reflection.
“While sitting in the SC, we come across the extent of justice and injustice all over the country. A convict, who has been in prison for 35 years, and not been released, an undertrial who has been in jail for 12 years without even charges being framed against him. These are some of the realities of Indian judicial system that we have to confront,” he said.
Talking about Maharashtra, he said that there are 48.23 lakh cases pending as of date. Of these, 21,718 cases are over 30 years old. “The oldest case is from Sangola taluka, in which the accused has been absconding since 1958.”
He added that 16,474 cases have been stayed by the Bombay HC. “There is a special darkhast of 1958, which is pending before civil judge senior division Ratnagiri in which a stay was granted by the Bombay HC in second appeal in 2008.”
Speaking about improving the justice delivery system through means of digitisation, Justice Chandrachud said that under ‘the inter-operable criminal justice system, we are linking every aspect of the criminal justice system, namely the prisons, the courts, police stations and the forensic laboratories. It is part of our vision three document.”
Citing a recent letter he has written to all the Chief Justices of High Court in India, he said that government is the largest litigant and that by January 2022 all the cases of the Union government and the state governments should be e-filed in district and HC.