India Needs a Court Management Authority

More than 4.22 crore cases are pending across Indian courts, and out of these, more than 33 lakh cases have been pending for more than 10 years. There are several reasons behind this scenario ranging from delayed process, shortage of judges, lack of judicial infrastructure, low case disposal rates, to an overall ineffective court and case management. Various efforts are being made to deal with these chronic issues at an institutional and individual level. Delivering justice to individuals quickly and cheaply is today’s overarching goal for the courts. One of the crucial elements is that modern court procedures are more heavily influenced by customs rather than by principles of productivity.

The Thirteenth Finance Commission, 2010 had allocated `300 crore for the appointment of “court managers” in high courts and district courts for a better management of court administration. Their suggested functions include policies and standards, planning, information statistics, case and court management, responsiveness management, legal aid and user-friendliness, human resource management, core system management, information technology system management, etc. Till date, more than 450 court managers have been appointed across the country. Some states have shown encouraging efforts in the appointment of court managers, while some have not implemented this provision in its true spirit. Court managers are facing various difficulties in terms of salary, scope of work, permanency issues, and terms and conditions, which varies from state to state.