SC expresses concern over delay in deciding cases

New Delhi, Sep 4 (UNI) The Supreme Court has expressed anguish and concern over the long pendancy of cases in the courts as inordinate delay in disposal is shaking faith of the people in the judiciary.

Unable to put an end to a half a century old case, a bench, comprising Justices A K Mathur and Markandey Katju, in their judgement noted ''Before parting with this case, we would like to express our anguish at the delay in disposal of cases in our courts.

The present case is a typical illustration. A suit filed in 1957 has rolled on for half a century. It reminds one of the case Jarndyce v/s Jarndyce in Charles Dickens' novel 'Bleak House' which had rolled on for decades, consuming litigants and lawyers alike.

People in India are simply disgusted with this state of affairs and are fast losing faith in the judiciary because of the inordinate delay in disposal of cases. We request the concerned authorities to do the needful in the matter urgently to ensure speedy disposal of cases if the people's faith in the judiciary is to remain.'' The apex court quoted from the novel 'Bleak House' which reads ''Jarndyce and Jarndyce drones on. This scarecrow of a suit has in course of time, become so complicated that no man alive knows what it means. The parties to it understand it least, but it has been observed that no two Chancery lawyers can talk about it for five minutes without coming to a total disagreement as to all the premises.

Innumerable children have been born into the cause; innumerable young people have married into it; innumerable old people have died out of it; but Jarndyce and Jarndyce still drags its dreary length before the court, perennially hopeless.'' The observations of the court came on an appeal filed by the legal heirs of Late Rajinder Singh against Prem Mai and others.

The suit was decreed by the trial court on September 21, 1963 and was filed in 1957 by Mrs Prem Mai and Sudha Mai for declaration and possession of the suit land.

Allahabad High Court dismissed the second appeal on February 10, 1971.

An application for restitution was dismissed by the trial court on August 13, 1975 and the High Court dismissed the second appeal on the application on September 6, 1999.

During the pendency of the appeal before the Supreme Court, another suit was filed in 2002, which is still pending and in which a status quo order has been passed by the trial court.

The apex court directed that the possession of the suit land shall be subject to orders passed in the suit proceedings.

On March 31, 2007, 2,49,56,919 cases were pending in the country's district courts.

UNI