Govt working on improving disposal of pending cases: President

"My government attaches high priority to improving the delivery of justice and reducing delays in the disposal of cases," Patil said addressing both Houses of Parliament.

Talking about the National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms which aims at timely delivery of justice to all, she said, "This should result in re-engineering of procedures, improving of human resources in this sector and leveraging of information technology."
Details of the Mission would be shortly finalised, the President said.

The pendency of cases in High Courts has increased during the last three years and the government now aims to reduce it from an average of 15 years at present to an average of 3 years.

The President also referred to the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill which has been introduced in Parliament.

The bill, she said, is "intended to enhance the accountability of the judiciary, thereby improving its image and efficiency."

The Bill provides a mechanism for enquiring into complaints against the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, requires them to declare their assets and liabilities and lays down judicial standards.

It will address the growing concerns regarding the need to ensure greater accountability of the higher judiciary by bringing in more transparency and would further strengthen the credibility and independence of the judiciary.