Commercial
Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts
Ordinance, 2015 and Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment ) Ordinance, 2015
Promulgated
Draft
National Litigation Policy Formulated
Web Portal for Centralized Data
Regarding Cases by or against the Union of India
Decentralization of Legal Assistance to
the Ministries/Departments
Study on merger of Tribunals completed
Constitution of 21st Law
Commission approved
43 Bills Introduced in Lok
Sabha during the year
25 bills and the Constitutional
(one hundredth amendment) act, 2015 enacted into acts.
9 Ordinances Promulgated by
the President under Article 123 of the Constitution
More than 95 percent Activities of E
Court Mission completed
ICT Infrastructure of the Supreme Court
and High Court has also been Upgraded.
National
E-Courts Portal become Operational and has been opened for Public Access
Overall pendency in
subordinate courts declined from 2.77 crore in 2010 to 2.64 crore in 2014
Availability of Infrastructure
Facilities for District and Subordinate Courts in the Country have considerably
improved in the recent past
The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act,
2015 to Enhance the Pecuniary Jurisdiction of Delhi District Courts from
existing Rupees Twenty Lakhs to Rupees Two Crore been brought into Force
The Union
Ministry of Law and Justice comprises of three respective departments, namely,
the Department of Legal Affairs, the Legislative
Department and the Department of Justice. During the calendar year2015
following are the initiatives and achievements of the ministry:
Promulgation
of the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division
of High Courts Ordinance, 2015
The
Government has under its consideration providing a mechanism to ensure speedy
and fair disposal of ‘commercial disputes’, especially of high value, involving
complex facts and questions of law. Accepting the recommendations of the Law
Commission made in 253rd Report, a Bill namely, the Commercial
Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts
Bill, 2015 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 24th April, 2015 and
the same is currently under the consideration of the Department related
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and
Justice.
India’s
ranking in Doing Business Report of World Bank 2015 in respect of ‘enforcing
contract’ is 178 out of 189. In order to improve the India’s ranking, the
Government felt that some urgent steps are needed to be taken. Establishment
of dedicated Commercial Courts and Commercial Division in High Courts would be
seen as a right step.
As
provided in the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate
Division of High Courts Bill, 2015, (which is pending in the Rajya Sabha) all
the suits, appeals or applications related to commercial dispute of specified
value i.e. one crore or above, are to be dealt with by the Commercial Court or
the Commercial Division of the High Court.
By
way of the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act of 2015, the ordinary original
jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court has been increased from Rs. Twenty lakhs
to Rs. Two crore and there is provision of transfer of pending cases from the
Delhi High Court to District Courts. When the Commercial Courts, Commercial
Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 would
become the Act, some of the Commercial Disputes which are to be transferred to
the District Courts from the Delhi High Court may again be required to be
transferred to the Commercial Division of the High Court of Delhi. It was
likely to lead to delay in the disposal of cases as well as cause inconvenience
to the parties and counsel and may also result in confusion. Therefore, it
became necessary that provisions of the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act, 2015
and establishment of the Commercial Courts and Commercial Division of the High
Courts may be brought in the statute book simultaneously.
Since
Parliament was not in session and urgent steps were needed to be taken, the
Cabinet in its meeting held on 21st October, 2015, approved the
Promulgation of the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial
Appellate Division in High Courts Ordinance, 2015. Later the President
promulgated the Ordinance on 23.10.2015
(ii) Promulgation
of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015.
With
rapid growth of international trade and commerce, large number of commercial
agreements not only between Indian nationals/companies but also between Indian
Nationals and foreign nations/companies are being signed. When there are more
commercial agreements, number of commercial disputes is bound to arise. Most
of these commercial agreements usually contain an arbitration agreement where
parties agree to settle any prospective dispute through arbitration instead of
going to court. Arbitration has thus emerged as a commercially significant
method of dispute resolution. In India, the Arbitration and Conciliation act,
1996 is the governing law regarding arbitration proceedings and enforcement of
foreign arbitral award. However, due to large pendency of cases in courts and
slow process of dispute resolution through arbitration, India does not enjoy a
good position in contract enforcement in the world. India has ranked in
enforcing contract at 178 out of 189. Quick enforcement of contract, easy
recovery of monetary claims and award of just compensation for damages suffered
are absolutely essential to encourage investment and economic activity. With
these objectives, the President has promulgated the arbitration and Conciliation
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, on 23.10.2015.
(iii) National
Litigation Policy
The Government is often perceived as the biggest
litigant in various courts in the country. With a view to reverse this image,
this Department has formulated a draft National Litigation Policy. It aims to
transform Government as an institution which does not believe in entering into
unnecessary and avoidable litigation in the Courts by taking appropriate steps
at pre-litigation stage itself. The policy also aims to make Government as an
Efficient and Responsible litigant. The policy is awaiting approval of the
Cabinet.
(iv)
Web Portal for centralized data regarding cases by or against the Union of
India
As of today, there is no centralized data available
regarding cases by or against the Union of India. A Legal Information
Management Based System (LIMBS) a web portal has been set up where each
Ministry/Department of the Government is required to upload the details of
cases which are pending in various courts and the status of these cases. This
will help in effective monitoring of court cases by the Department of Legal
Affairs.
(v) Decentralization
of legal assistance to the Ministries/Departments
As part of the legal reforms, this Department is
envisaging to decentralize the availability of legal assistance to the
Ministries/Departments by providing services of ILS officers in-house in each
Ministry/Department. For this purpose, all Ministries/Departments were
requested to assess their requirements of ILS officers depending on the
workload of their advice/legislative matters. Views of DOPT and Department of
Expenditure have been obtained on a draft Cabinet Note in this regard. A Note
for the Cabinet would be moved shortly.
(vi)
Merger of Tribunals functioning under the administrative charge of various
Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.
A large of number Tribunals are functioning under
the administrative charge of various Ministries / Departments of the Government
of India. There is possibility that some of these Tribunals can be converged /
merged to avoid overlapping / identical functions being discharged by these
Tribunals. A study in this regard was entrusted to the Indian Law Institute.
Study report has been received and is being sent to the concerned Ministries
and Departments for their response on the report.
(vii)
The
Income tax Appellate Tribunal decides second appeals against orders of
the Departmental Appellate Authorities in respect of all direct taxes. There
are 63 Benches of ITAT with sanctioned strength of 63 Judicial Members and 63
Accountant Members including one President, one Senior Vice President and 9
Vice-Presidents. After amendment of the Income Tax Act, recently for the first
time a retired Judge of the High Court has been appointed as President of the
Tribunal. The selection process for selection of 48 Members of the Tribunal
has been completed by holding interviews of 546 candidates and proposals were
sent for approval of the Government. The appointment of 30 Members have been
made in the Tribunal. During the period from May, 2014 to October, 2015 ITAT
has disposed of 51,902 cases out of 63,475 cases instituted during this
period.
(viii)
The
Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the
Government from time to time. The 20th Law Commission of India was
constituted for a period of three years with effect from 1st
September, 2012 and upto 31st August, 2015. The successive Law
Commissions have so far submitted 256 Reports, all of which have been forwarded
to the concerned Ministries/ Departments for examination/implementation.
During the current financial year the Law Commission of India has submitted 12
Reports. Since the Law Commission of India is continuously functioning from
1955, Government has approved constitution of the 21st Law
Commission of India for a period of three years with effect from 1.9.2015 to
31.8.2018. The Chairperson and Members of the Commission will be appointed
shortly.
Important Tasks Undertaken by the
Legislative Department.
During the period from 1st January, 2015 to 11th
December, 2015 this Department has examined 98 legislative proposals/Notes for
the Cabinet involving new proposals in consultation with different
Ministries/Departments for drafting the Bills for introduction in the Houses of
the Parliament. During this period, 43 Bills were sent to the Parliament for
introduction.
Out of the Bills which were already pending before Parliament and
those introduced during the period from 01/01/2015 to 11/12/15, 25 Bills and
the Constitutional (One Hundredth Amendment) Act, 2015 have been enacted into
Acts. 9 Ordinances have been promulgated by the President under article 123 of
the Constitution.
During the above said period, 2821 Subordinate legislation
proposals of various Ministries/Departments have been dealt with.
Repeal of Obsolete and redundant laws: The action taken by this
Department relating to the ‘Repeal of obsolete and redundant laws from
June, 2014;
|
Sl. No.
|
Action taken
|
Number of Acts repealed
|
Present status
|
|
(1)
|
(2)
|
(3)
|
(4)
|
|
1.
|
The Repealing and Amending Act, 2015
(Act 17 of 2015
|
35 Acts
|
Received assent of the President on 13/05/2015 and published in
the Gazette of India as Act No. 17 of 2015
|
|
2.
|
The Repealing and Amendment (Second)
Act, 2015 (Act 19 of 2015
|
90 Acts
|
Received assent of the President on 14/05/15 and published in
the Gazette of India as Act No. 19 of 2015.
|
|
3.
|
The Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill,
2015
|
A Bill to repeal 758 Appropriation Acts [including the
Appropriation (Railways) Act] enacted since 1950 to 2012 which includes 111
State Appropriation Acts enacted by Parliament during the President’s Rule in
the States upto the year 1976 [before the Constitution 42nd
Amendment) Act, 1976] was introduced in Lok Sabha on 24/04/15 and considered
and passed by Lok Sabha on 11/05/15.
|
The said Bill, as passed by Lok Sabha is pending in Rajya Sabha.
|
|
4.
|
The Repealing and Amending (Third)
Bill, 2015
|
The Repealing and Amending (Fourth) Bill, 2015 has been
introduced in Lok Sabha on 27th July, 2015 to repeal 295 Acts.
|
Passed by Lok Sabha on 06/08/15 as the Repealing and Amending
(Third) Bill, 2015 and pending in Rajya Sabha
|
Training in Legislative Drafting
Legislative Drafting is a specialised job which involves drafting
skill and expertise. Continuous and sustainable efforts are required to
enhance the skills in drafting of laws. The existing resource persons need
training and orientation to develop the aptitude and the skill in legislative
drafting. In January, 1989, with a view to increasing the availability of
trained Legislative Counsels in the country, the Institute of Legislative
Drafting and
Research (ILDR) was established as a Wing of the Legislative Department,
Ministry of Law and Justice. Since its inception, ILDR has been imparting
theoretical as well as practical training in Legislative Drafting. The
following activities have been performed by ILDR during the period 01-01-2015
till date.
During
the period under report, ILDR has conducted one Basic Course, one Appreciation
Course and first refresher course. The Twenty-Seventh Basic Course in
Legislative Drafting was conducted from 10th July, 2015 to 9th
October, 2015, the Eighteenth Appreciation Course in Legislative Drafting was
conducted from 19th January, 2015 to 2nd February, 2015
and first refresher course was conducted from 20th April, 2015 to
19th May, 2015.
The
Trainee Officers from the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Hungary, Jamaica, Jordan, Indonesia, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Lesotho,
Lithuania, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Pan
African Parliament, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Ukraine were given
on-the-job practical training in ILDR by attaching them with the ILS officers
of this Department during the Thirtieth International Training Programme in
Legislative Drafting (12th February, 2015 to 13th March,
2015) organised by Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training, Lok Sabha
Secretariat.
On
successful completion of 25 years of ILDR’s existence and its remarkable
service rendered to the fraternity of Legislative Counsels in the Country,
Silver Jubilee function was organised on 19th February, 2015.
ILDR
offers Voluntary Internship Scheme for Law Students to motivate students in
creating interest in legislative drafting skills and secure knowledge about the
nature and working of the Legislative Department. So far, 15 interns have
successfully completed the internship during the reported period.
The
RFDs for Legislative Department have been prepared, finalised and uploaded on
the website of this Department. The Performance Management Division (PMD) in
the Cabinet Secretariat monitors the preparation and working of RFD. The tasks
as per the RFD 2014-2015 are being undertaken to achieve the goal of best
performance by the Department. As part of the commitment made by the Department
in RFD 2014-2015, an Action Plan to get ILDR ISO Certification was drawn up.
Consequently, a Quality Management System (QMS) has been developed and put in
place in ILDR. Thereafter, internal and external audits were undertaken and
finally, ILDR has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 Certification on the basis of
evaluation of the working of QMS in ILDR.
Seminars,
Exhibitions and Sale of Books and Patrikas.
In the year
2015-16 exhibition-cum-sale counters were held at Allahabad High Court and
Varansi District Court, Tis Hazari, Patiala House, Dwaraka, Rohini, Saket,
Karkardoonma and Delhi High Court, Gross sale figure of Vidhi Sahitya Prakashan
is Rs, 11,02,641/- the year 2015-16. Apart from this a stall has been reserved
for World Book fair to be held at Prahgati Maidan on 9th January,
2016 to 17th January, 2016.
I. List of
Bills introduced in Parliament during 1st January, 2015 to 11th
December, 2015:
|
S.No.
|
Title
|
-
|
The
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Finance Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) Vote on Account Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) No.2 Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
National Waterways Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Compensatory Afforestations Fund Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Second Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of
High Courts Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Repealing and Amending (Third) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Banami Transactions (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (to replace Ord. 6 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Repealing and Amending (Fourth) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) No.3 Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Bureau of Indian Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Carriage By Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Consumer Protection Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service)
Amendment Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Indian Trusts (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of
High Courts Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
-
|
The
Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015
|
II. List of Acts enacted during 1st
January, 2015 to 11th December, 2015:
-
|
The
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.1 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2015 (Act
No.2 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.3 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2015(Act No.4 of
2015)
|
-
|
The
Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.5 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) Vote on Account Bill, 2015(Act No.6 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2015(Act No.7 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2015(Act No.8 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Appropriation Bill, 2015(Act No.9 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 (Act
No.10 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015 (Act No.11 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.12 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) No.2 Bill, 2015 (Act No.13 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.14 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2015 (Act No.15 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.16 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Repealing and Amending Bill, 2015 (Act No.17 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Payment and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.18 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2015 (Act No.19 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Finance Bill, 2015 (Act No.20 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.21 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax
Bill, 2015 (Act No.22 of 2015)
|
|
23.
|
The
Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (Act No.23 of 2015)
|
|
24.
|
The
Appropriation (Railways) No.3 Bill, 2015(Act No.24 of 2015)
|
|
25.
|
The
Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2015(Act No.25 of 2015)
|
|
*
|
The Constitution (One Hundredth Amendment) Act,
2015 - The
Act amends the First Schedule of the Constitution to give effect to an
agreement entered into between India and Bangladesh in 1974 and its protocol,
which allow for acquiring certain territories by India, and transfer of
certain territories to Bangladesh. The First Schedule of the Constitution
defines the area of each state and union territory which together constitute
India. The Bill alters the boundaries of Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and
Tripura in the First Schedule.
|
III. List of Ordinances promulgated:
-
|
The
Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (1 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Motor Vehicles (Amendment Ordinance), 2015 (2 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance, 2015 (3
of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (4 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2015 (5 of
2015)
|
-
|
The
Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (6 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2015 (7 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of
High Courts Ordinance, 2015 (8 of 2015)
|
-
|
The
Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015(9 of 2015)
|
E
Courts Mission Mode Project
The e Courts Integrated Mission Mode Project is one
of the National e-Governance projects being implemented in High Courts and
District and Subordinate Courts of the Country, since 2007.
As on 30th November, 2015, more than 95%
of the mandated activities of Phase I of the Project have been completed.
|
S. No.
|
Module
|
Status as on 31.10.2015
|
% Completion
|
|
1
|
Sites funded
|
14249
|
100.00
|
|
2
|
Sites readiness
|
14249
|
100.00
|
|
3
|
Hardware installation
|
13436
|
94.29
|
|
4
|
LAN installation
|
13683
|
96.02
|
|
5
|
Software deployment
|
13672
|
95.95
|
In addition to above, ICT
infrastructure of the Supreme Court and High Court has also been upgraded.
I.
A
unified national core application software - Case Information System (CIS)
software - has been developed and made available for deployment at all
computerised courts. Entry of data regarding past cases has been initiated, and
data in respect of over 5 crore cases is available online.
II.
The
national e-Courts portal (http://www.ecourts.gov.in)
has become operational and has been opened for public access through websites
of individual districts as well as through National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).
The portal provides online services to litigants such as details of case
registration, cause list, case status, daily orders, and final judgments.
Currently, litigants can access case status information in respect of over 5.59
crore pending and decided cases and more than 1.93 crore orders/judgments
pertaining to district and subordinate Courts. NJDG data will also help the
judiciary in judicial monitoring and management and the Government to get data
for policy purposes.
Ph-II
of the eCourts Project has been approved in July, 2015. It envisages enhanced
ICT enablement of court through universal computerisation, use of cloud
computing, digitization of case records and enhanced availability of e-Services
through e-filing, e-payment gateways and mobile payments.
A
consolidation of all the initiatives and measures proposed to be taken up and
installation of the components planned in Phase-II of the project will result
in multi-platform services for the litigants under the Charter of Services.
Further, e-filing of cases, e-payment of court fees and process service
through email and through process servers having hand held devices, are some of
the services to be added in Phase II.
Access
to the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) was opened to general public on 19th
September, 2015. The information on NJDG will help improve the administration
of justice delivery as well as judicial management and monitoring.
Pendency
Reduction
Pendency reduction campaign was
initiated for the first time in July, 2011. High Courts were requested to
prioritise disposal of cases that had been pending for a long duration,
particularly those relating to senior citizens and marginalized sections of
society. In 2012 the focus of the campaign was to make the judicial system free
of cases that were over five years old. Pendency reduction campaign in 2013
focused on weeding out ineffective and infructuous cases from the judicial
system. In 2014 emphasis was laid on filling up of vacancies of judicial
officers and organization of Mega Lok Adalats. As a result of concerned efforts
made by various stakeholders the increasing trend of pendency of cases in
subordinate courts has been checked and the overall pendency in subordinate
courts has declined from 2.77 crore in 2010 to 2.64 crore in 2014.
JUDICIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Adequacy of judicial infrastructure is one of the important factors which
determines the capacity of the courts to dispose of cases in an orderly and
time bound manner. The Central Government has been financially assisting
the State Governments in development of modern court complexes and residential
accommodation which adhere to the standard building designs. The
financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 933 crores was released to the State
Governments for this purpose during the last financial year. An amount of
Rs. 448 crores has been released to the states as on 30th November,
2015 during the current financial year.
On account of concerted efforts made by the Central Government, State
Governments and the judiciary in this regard the availability of infrastructure
facilities for District and Subordinate Courts in the country have considerably
improved in the recent past. Against the working strength of about 15,300
judicial officers, a matching number of court halls are available to conduct
the judicial proceedings. About 2,700 additional court halls are under
construction to take care of immediate increase in working strength of
Subordinate Judiciary. Similarly, the availability of the residential
accommodation to the judicial officers has also improved in the recent past and
more than 10,800 residential units of required standards and designs are
available for the judicial officers. In addition, more than 1,700
residential units are under construction at present to further improve the
availability of residential accommodation for subordinate courts.
Write-up
on Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act, 2015.
The
Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi considered the request of the
Bar Associations of Delhi and requested the Central Government to approve
enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction of the High Court of Delhi and District
Courts of Delhi from existing Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 2 crore. Increasing the
pecuniary jurisdiction of District Courts of Delhi would lessen the burden of
Delhi High Court and there would be substantive improvement in disposal of
cases in subordinate Courts. This will facilitate access of the general public
to 11 District Courts located in 6 District Court Complexes within the vicinity
of their location, ensuring speedy justice to the litigants at their door
steps.
The
Delhi High Court Act, 1966 is a Central Legislation. Under Section 5(2) of the
Delhi High Court Act, 1966, the High Court of Delhi has ordinary civil jurisdiction
in respect of suits, the value of which exceeds Rs. 20 lakh. This jurisdiction
was last revised with effect from 16th July 2003 from Rs. 5 lakh to
Rs. 20 lakh by the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act, 2003. Pecuniary
jurisdiction of District Courts in Delhi is determined under Section 25 of the
Punjab Courts Act 1918, as applicable in the National Capital Territory of
Delhi. This jurisdiction was also last revised in 2003.
Keeping in view the need to provide
justice at the doorsteps of the people, the proposal of the Government of
National Capital Territory of Delhi has been considered and a Bill, namely The
Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was passed by the Parliament. The Delhi
High Court (Amendment) Act, 2015 to enhance the pecuniary jurisdiction of Delhi
District Courts from existing rupees twenty lakhs to rupees two crore received
the assent of the President of India on 10.08.2015 and has been brought into
force w.e.f.26.10.2015.
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