Sakshi Education
By Srirangam Sriram, Sriram's IAS, New Delhi.
National Court of Appeal is being proposed for a variety of reasons as a judicial reform to make justice more accessible. It is mooted that the Supreme Court will function as a Constitutional court to deal with federal cases and issues of Fundamental Rights and others can be handed over to the regional benches of the NCA. The aims is to cut costs and make courts accessible.
In 1950, the Supreme Court consisted of seven judges and worked for four hours a day for 28 days a year. In 2020, the Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 33 judges, excluding the CJI but case pendency has increased from 690 cases in 1950 to 61,300 cases, making it one of the most overburdened constitutional courts in the world. It may be attributed to the Supreme Court departing from its primary function of adjudicating cases of constitutional importance and converting itself into a regular court of appeals as well.
It led to excessive backlog of cases.
Frequent adjournments due to the geographical concentration of the Supreme Court in Delhi have compounded the challenge.
Apart from the backlog of cases, the Law Commission’s 229th report also pointed out the logistical difficulties that poor litigants face by travelling all the way to Delhi.
“Adjournments become prohibitive, costs get multiplied.”
Justice is not only done but also should seem to be done. Therefore, there is a need for NCA.
In 1950, the Supreme Court consisted of seven judges and worked for four hours a day for 28 days a year. In 2020, the Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 33 judges, excluding the CJI but case pendency has increased from 690 cases in 1950 to 61,300 cases, making it one of the most overburdened constitutional courts in the world. It may be attributed to the Supreme Court departing from its primary function of adjudicating cases of constitutional importance and converting itself into a regular court of appeals as well.
It led to excessive backlog of cases.
Frequent adjournments due to the geographical concentration of the Supreme Court in Delhi have compounded the challenge.
Apart from the backlog of cases, the Law Commission’s 229th report also pointed out the logistical difficulties that poor litigants face by travelling all the way to Delhi.
“Adjournments become prohibitive, costs get multiplied.”
Justice is not only done but also should seem to be done. Therefore, there is a need for NCA.Published date : 18 Nov 2020 01:30PM
