SUPREME
COURT CASES: POLITY
NEWS:
How the Supreme Court hears cases
WHAT’S
IN THE NEWS?
The Supreme Court of
India is addressing its backlog of 82,000 cases by prioritizing Special Leave
Petitions (SLPs) through a new case management system. SLPs are discretionary
appeals under Article 136, and the court has set aside specific days for hearing
them to expedite the process.
Backlog
in Supreme Court:
- The Supreme Court of India
is currently grappling with a significant backlog of over 82,000
pending cases. To address this issue, the Chief Justice of India
(CJI), Sanjiv Khanna, introduced a new case prioritization
system. This approach focuses primarily on managing and expediting Special
Leave Petitions (SLPs).
Special
Leave Petitions (SLPs):
- SLPs are discretionary
appeals that allow petitioners to appeal against lower court
decisions. They are provided for under Article 136 of the Indian
Constitution, which grants the Supreme Court the power to grant
"leave" to allow the appeal to be heard.
Key
Points:
- Leave must be granted by the SC
before a case can be heard.
- SLPs are often quick
decisions regarding whether or not the case will be admitted, making
it an important tool for reducing the overall pendency of cases.
- Once admitted, the case
proceeds to a full hearing where detailed arguments are presented.
- SLPs account for 92.4% of the SC’s docket, yet
only about 14% of SLPs are actually admitted for full hearings.
Supreme
Court’s Hearing Schedule:
- The Supreme Court has
designed a specific schedule to manage the growing number of cases:
- Monday and Friday are set aside for fresh
cases.
- Tuesday to Thursday are dedicated to hearing
SLPs, which typically do not require detailed hearings.
- This prioritization helps
streamline the workload and reduces delays by focusing efforts on
managing admissions rather than detailed hearings.
SLP
Admission Process:
- The average time spent on
deciding whether to admit an SLP is about 1 minute 33 seconds.
- If admitted, the case moves
to a full hearing and can take years before a final judgment
is passed. On average, it takes more than four years for a judgment
to be delivered after admission.
Supreme
Court Registry:
- The Supreme Court
Registry is the administrative arm responsible for managing the
court’s functions, including case filings, scheduling, and overall
administration.
- The Registry has two
wings:
- Administration: Handles case listing,
human resources, and technology.
- Judicial: Deals with case-related
matters.
- The Secretary General
of the Supreme Court is the highest administrative officer and reports
directly to the CJI.
Case
Filing and Listing Process:
- Advocate-on-Record (AoRs) are the lawyers authorized
to file cases on behalf of clients in the SC.
- Cases are filed either at
the filing counter or through the SC’s e-Filing portal.
- After submission, a dealing
assistant checks for defects, such as incorrect details or missing
signatures. If any issues are found, the petitioner must correct them
within 90 days.
- Once defect-free, the case
gets a diary number and is sent for listing before the
court. If not dismissed immediately, the SC issues notices to the opposing
party and schedules hearings accordingly.
Types of
Cases Heard:
- If an SLP is admitted,
it moves forward to a full hearing.
- If dismissed, the case is closed
and does not progress.
Source:
https://www.thehindu.com/business/rbi-unveils-mulehunter-to-prevent-digital-frauds/article68954842.ece