Report No. 14
18. Court of district and sessions judges.-
The following two statements show the civil and criminal work done by the district and sessions judges (including the additional district and sessions judges) during the years 1954-56.
Civil Work
Civil Suits |
Misc. Civil Cases and Petition |
Civil Appeals |
Civil Misc. Appeals |
|||||||||||||||||
Year |
Pending at the beginning of the year |
Institutions |
Disposal |
Balance |
Pending at the beginning of the year |
Institutions |
Disposal |
Balance |
Pending at the beginning of year |
Institutions |
Disposal |
Balance |
Pending at the beginning of year |
Institutions |
Disposal |
Balance |
||||
Below one year |
Over one year |
Below one year |
Over one year |
Below one year |
Over one year |
Below one year |
Over one year |
|||||||||||||
District Judges & Additional District Judges |
||||||||||||||||||||
1954 |
59 |
21 |
30 |
21 |
31 |
258 |
389 |
385 |
172 |
83 |
1064 |
660 |
482 |
550 |
494 |
160 |
356 |
314 |
175 |
20 |
1955 |
52 |
26 |
23 |
24 |
32 |
255 |
445 |
362 |
221 |
110 |
1044 |
768 |
704 |
651 |
455 |
195 |
366 |
382 |
157 |
18 |
1956 |
56 |
67 |
36 |
50 |
40 |
331 |
480 |
392 |
203 |
185 |
1106 |
906 |
823 |
662 |
469 |
175 |
413 |
324 |
238 |
24 |
Criminal Work
Session Cases |
Criminal Appeals |
Civil and Revisions |
|||||||||||||
Year |
Pending at the beginning of the year |
Institution |
Disposal |
Balance |
Pending at the beginning of the year |
Institution |
Disposal |
Balance |
Pending at the beginning of the year |
Institution |
Disposal |
Balance |
|||
Below one year |
Over one year |
Below one year |
Over one year |
Below one year |
Over one year |
||||||||||
District and Session Judges and Additional District and Session Judges |
|||||||||||||||
1954 |
113 |
248 |
255 |
104 |
2 |
615 |
1029 |
1271 |
353 |
20 |
83 |
306 |
279 |
109 |
1 |
1955 |
106 |
318 |
282 |
141 |
1 |
373 |
938 |
1066 |
241 |
4 |
110 |
228 |
291 |
97 |
.. |
1956 |
142 |
328 |
310 |
156 |
4 |
245 |
1380 |
1075 |
543 |
7 |
47 |
279 |
229 |
97 |
4 |
Assistant Session Judge |
|||||||||||||||
1954 |
47 |
130 |
143 |
31 |
3 |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
1955 |
34 |
88 |
96 |
25 |
1 |
.. |
2 |
1 |
1 |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
1956 |
26 |
100 |
91 |
34 |
1 |
1 |
134 |
90 |
45 |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
.. |
The above-mentioned figures have been supplied by the High Court of Orissa.
There are however some slight discrepancies, which cannot be avoided
It will be noticed, that the work of district and sessions judges is heavily in arrears, particularly on the civil side. On the criminal side, the existing strength of the higher judiciary is just able to keep pace with the current institutions. The original suits tried by district judges are generally of a special nature. Although the number of suits is not very large, nevertheless, the rate of disposal has been low. In 1955, the average duration of cases disposed of after full trial was as high as 770 days i.e. over 2 years.
A large number of civil appeals are also pending, out of which nearly 42 per cent, were more than one year old in 1956. The average duration of a contested civil appeal was 656 days i.e. about 1 year and 10 months, being the highest in India in that year. The administration reports also show, that the average duration of original suits, civil appeals and sessions cases has been progressively rising since 1951. All these factors clearly indicate, that the existing strength of the higher judiciary is incapable of controlling the files. The work on the civil side seems to suffer greatly as district and sessions judges are apparently unable to devote sufficient time and attention to this part of their work.
We have noticed earlier, that quite a substantial part of their work is shared by subordinate judges, who deal with civil and criminal appeals and also dispose of sessions cases. If relief is given to subordinate judges, by relieving them of much of their civil appellate and session work as suggested by us, a still heavier burden will be thrown on district and additional district judges. The district judges will also have to devote more time to their supervisory duties. In view of these facts, we are of the view that the strength of the Higher judiciary needs to be augmented.