Calcutta HC sets case deadlines

Monalisa Chaudhuri and Tapas Ghosh, TT, Calcutta, May 6: Calcutta High Court has directed the disposal of all cases older than 10 years by December and the ones pending for five years by March next year "as far as practicable". Justice Sanjib Banerjee issued the order while hearing a 40-year-old civil dispute between the state government and an 86-year-old woman whose land was acquired in 1977 for extending Rashbehari Avenue till Kasba. The April 26 order will be applicable for all lower courts across Bengal, besides the high court. According to the law department, 3.52 lakh cases were pending with Calcutta High Court as on December 31, 2016, while 28.56 lakh cases were lying with lower courts across the state. "It is a matter of concern that in several of the oldest matters which remain undecided in this State, the State of West Bengal may be a party. A policy decision has now been taken by this court at the behest of the Supreme Court that all five-year-old matters pending in any court should be disposed of, as far as practicable, by March 31, 2018, and all ten-year-old matters pending in any court should be disposed of by the end of this calendar year," the order by Justice Banerjee states. Several lawyers said disposing of so many cases within the time frame would be difficult, given the structure of the Indian judiciary. "With so many vacancies in trial courts and the lack of logistical support, how can we expect to dispose of the cases so fast? The Indian judiciary offers certain procedural safeguards, like the right to challenge an order, which usually consume time.... Can that right be taken away?" asked a senior high court advocate. At present, the number of sanctioned judges in Calcutta High Court is 72, but only 35 of the posts are filled. The sanctioned strength of judicial officers in subordinate courts is 1,013 while the actual workforce is 889. A senior judicial officer referred to the 2011 AMRI fire tragedy to explain why disposing of so many cases within the deadline was difficult. "There are 455 witnesses in the AMRI case. Even if the trial is held on a day-to-day basis, it will not be possible to wrap it up in six months. But that would also mean all other cases would have to be stalled," he said. Justice Banerjee was hearing a petition by Deepti Lekha Nath, now 86, who had moved court in 1977 alleging that the compensation of Rs 70,000 she received from the state government for her seven-odd cottahs in Kasba was less than the market price. The land is currently a part of the area where the Bijon Setu has been built, her lawyer Anirban Pal said. "For many years, I fought my own case. But gradually, my health started deteriorating," said Nath, a retired advocate. The elderly woman is now visually impaired and lives with her daughter in Narendrapur. Since 1977, her case is pending with the court of the additional special land acquisition judge, fourth court, in Alipore. Pal and his associate Intikhab Alam Mina recently submitted a petition before Justice Banerjee requesting that the case be expedited.