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Report No. 14

6. High Courts.-

There are inordinate delays in the disposal of suits on the Original Side. The year of the institution of the 13768 original suits pending on.-1-1957 is given below:-

Table No. 4

1944

1945

1946

1947

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

1953

1954

1955

1956

Total

91

167

259

470

715

706

964

1222

1324

1433

1615

1854

2722

13542

Note.- There is a difference of 226 between the actual number pending and the total given in this statement which cannot be explained.

Increase of work.-

It appears that the time of the judges on the Original Side is largely occupied in hearing what are really "Small Causes" for a High Court. Before 23rd February, 1957, the day on which the City Civil Court started functioning-all the commercial causes valued above Rs. 2,000 were tried by the High Court. The creation of the City Civil Court with its existing jurisdiction has not substantially relieved the congestion in the Original Side. According to the Chief Justice of the High Court the considerable congestion of suits and other proceedings on the Original Side is in some measure due to the fact that "the Attorneys take no steps to bring the commercial causes to a stage of hearing, but allow them to remain on the file of the court as a useless load to be carried from year to year." Delays in the disposal of proceedings are, also in some measure attributable to the procedural rules of the court which have been described as archaic and cumbrous.

The main reasons for the accumulation of arrears in the High Court would however appear to be the increase in the volume of litigation, and the inadequacy of the judge-strength. Though the territorial jurisdiction of the Court has considerably shrunk since the partition, the actual institution of certain categories of proceedings has instead of diminishing, increased substantially, and the number of institutions of other categories of proceedings has remained nearly the same as before the partition. This will appear from the Table given below:-

Table No. 5

Nature of Pending

Number instituted in

1945

1950

1955

1

2

3

4

First Appeals from decrees from decrees

378

339

345

Second Appeals from decrees

1860

1012

1650

Letters Patent Appeals

25

21

9

Civil Revision Petition

916

1098

2909

Appeals against orders including against appellate orders

476

204

420

Original Suits

1910

5203

3702

Appeals

Under section 410, Cr. P.C

842

259

390

Under section 417, Cr. P.C.

22

6

13

References

Under section 307, Cr. P.C.

33

9

11

Under section 341, Cr. P.C.

..

..

6

Under Section 374, Cr. P.C.

13

6

3

Under Section 432, Cr. P.C.

I

11

Revisions

Under Section 435, Cr. P.C.

1703

1187

1634

Under Section 438, Cr. P.C.

214

94

94

Under Section 476, Cr. P.C.

6

2

3

Under Section 526, Cr. P.C.

133

50

104

Note.- The figures relating to the Criminal proceedings shown under the year 1950 relate to the year 1949. In 1945, the jurisdiction of the High Court extended to Assam, and what is now East Bengal.

In addition to the above, 23 sessions cases were disposed of in 1946, 76 in 1949 and 72 in 1955, in the High Court.

The factors which have contributed to the increase in the volume of litigation and the consequent accumulation of arrears are thus described by the Chief Justice of West Bengal. "Numerous Acts have been passed in recent years, creating more and more work for the High Court of such variety and volume that the Court has been fully extended in dealing with that new work alone, with the result that its normal work, which had previously lain in suits, appeals and other proceedings under the general laws, had to a considerable extent to be put aside. The Bengal Agricultural Debtors' Act brought in a volume of work which almost overwhelmed the Court; soon followed the Bengal Money Lenders' Act, the contribution of which was equally voluminous; and then came a succession of Rent Control Orders and Acts, giving rise to an enormous number of appeals and revisions.

In the sum, five judges of the Court have remained continuously occupied with work arising out of these special legislative Acts. There was again the Banking Companies Act which had the effect of transferring to the Court all proceedings, pending anywhere in India, with which any of the over 70 Banking Companies which had gone into liquidation and which had their head-offices in Calcutta was concerned. Misfeasance summonses taken out in connection with these liquidations have been so many in number that a Judge, in addition to the Company Judge, had to be particularly assigned for their disposal and sanction for a special staff had to be obtained. The scale on which those summonses are being prosecuted is vast, the charges involving crores of rupees and the evidence comprising not only the oral testimony of hundreds of witnesses, but also books of account and correspondence running into thousands of pages in each case.

One of the reasons why company matters and commercial causes have to a large extent been held up during the last two years has been the sudden emergence of Misfeasance Summonses which had to be taken up at once. Then again, Income-tax References have increased from 30 to 40 a year to over 200 a year; the number of References under the Chartered Accountants Act is steadily growing and the same is the case with appeals under the Workmen's Compensation Act. On the criminal side, commitments have grown so much in number that not only has one Judge to preside over the Sessions throughout the year without any break, but at times a second judge has had to be provided for dealing with specially big cases which could not be heard by the Judge, taking the ordinary list, without the hearing of the rest of the cases being indefinitely postponed.

Criminal appellate work has also increased considerably, not only because of the rise in the number of cases of the ordinary type, but also because of new work being thrown on the Court by new legislations. The several Criminal Law Amendment Acts have on the one hand provided for the hearing of criminal cases of unusual gravity and complexity and on the other hand they have provided for appeals to the High Court on facts. It has been a common experience to find cases, heard before a Special Judge or Tribunal for two or three years in the course of which "evidence, sufficient to fill 20 or 30 volumes of paper book, was admitted and the case then coming up with all that evidence to the High Court on appeal."

The accompanying Tables (Tables Nos. 6 and 7) will clearly show that arrears have been progressively increasing and that certain categories of proceedings have been pending for over a decade.

In spite of the increase in the number of judges since the partition, the arrears have not been brought under control. We doubt whether even the recent appointment of four additional judges for a term of two years, will result in reducing the arrears and bringing the file under control. In our view the real remedy lies in relieving the High Court of certain categories of proceedings, which can, with confidence, be entrusted to the City Civil and Sessions Court and the District Courts.







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