India has 3.11 crore Backlog of Cases, says Prime Minister

New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh expressed deep concerns over the huge backlog of cases in various of courts in the country. The PM said that for the first time in judicial history, any country has a record 3.11 crore backlog of cases, which has brought the judicial process into a complete halt. The PM also urged the judges to wine off every tear of the litigants, by speeding up the process.

According to the Law Commission's report, currently 17% judicial posts are lying vacant. While, 52,592 cases are pending with the Supreme Court, about 40 lakh cases are pending in various High Courts. About 2.71 cases are pending in the lower courts.

At a day-long meeting of chief justices and chief ministers in New Delhi yesterday, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily and CJI K G Balakrishnan stressed on the need for a systematic approach to tackle the backlog, speed up justice and fill up the vacancies in courts.