Madras HC's case disposal equals no. of new ones filed

Chennai:Weighed down by about 50% shortage in the number of judges, the number of cases pending in the Madras high court is inching toward the 3-lakh mark. The 2015-end figure stood at 2.84 lakh cases, marking an increase of nearly 21,000 cases from the calendar year 2014.
Against the sanctioned strength of 75 judges, the HC now has only 37 judges. Of them, Justice S Palanivelu is too ill to do any judicial work for the past two years.
However, the judges were able to dispose of 1.41 lakh cases at the principal and Madurai benches.During the 2015 calendar year, 1.62 lakh new cases were instituted at these places.
Put in percentage terms, the HC was able to dispose of cases equal to about 87% of new litigation initiated in 2015.
"Thanks to unfilled vacancies, we are barely able to keep the docket explosion under control, not allowing it to balloon beyond our limits," said a judge.
The overall pendency of cases, including those pending on the files of subordinate courts in Tamil Nadu, is close to 14 lakh. Along with 11 lakh cases in subordinate courts, Tamil Nadu today has 13.92 lakh dockets waiting to be disposed.
The year 2015 began with 2.64 lakh cases pending on the files of the chartered high court, and by December 31, 2015, it rose to 2.84 lakh cases. "It was a double-whammy year for the court. One, we were slogging with just 50% of the sanctioned strength of judges for most part of the year. Two, disturbance from the Bar and high rate of filing of new cases added to our misery. These two factors led to further piling up of cases," a senior judge told TOI.
Assuming that the high court had an average of 38 judges in service during the calendar year, the per capita disposal rate is 3,529 cases. "It could perhaps be the best in the country. We are awaiting national-level data," he said.
Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul too said in the annual report of the high court that the court was able to dispose of 1.41 lakh cases when the strength of judges was 'at an all-time low'. "Now that the strength of judges is being enhanced to 75, once all vacancies are filled, we can expect manifold increase in disposal," he said, adding that the subordinate judiciary is also turning out impressive numbers.
Subordinate judiciary in Tamil Nadu has indeed turned out a stellar performance in 2015, as it managed to dispose of 11.17 lakh cases with an average judge strength of just 975. "Our judicial officers have cleared 1,201 cases on an average, clocking four disposals a day. It is no mean achievement, given the constraints such as staff and amenities shortage," said a former office-bearer of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Judicial Officers Association.
While 12.16 lakh new cases were filed in the subordinate courts in the year 2015, more than 11.71 lakh cases were disposed of by the 975-strong subordinate judiciary, which too has about 60 vacancies to fill.
"Work flow has been institutionalized now, and adequate number of judges would have done wonders to the pendency position in Madras high court in particular, and Tamil Nadu judiciary in general," said senior judge. As 30 new names have already been recommended for appointment as judges of the high court, the year 2016-17 will see vast improvement in the rate of disposal, he said.