Team News Riveting
Patna, March 26
Noted woman lawyer of Bihar Mrs Chhaya Mishra on Friday welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of India to recall the services of the retired High Court judges to reduce pendency of cases.
The former joint secretary of the Advocates Association, Mrs Chhaya Mishra said there were four crore cases pending in the country. The Supreme Court alone has 65,000 cases pending disposal. In Allahabad high Court, there are 7.5 lakh cases and in Patna High Court 1.50 lakh cases are yet to be decided. She said 70 per cent of the Patna High Court were of civil nature and one third of criminal nature. In Patna High Court, about 20 per cent of the pending cases were ten years old.
The number rose further during the Lockdown period too and in absence of the sufficient number of courts, more piled up. Judges are retiring, but their benches are not filled up due to the long drawn process of selection and appointments.
Mrs Chhaya Mishra said in the Special Courts set up for the speedy trial of cases, retired judicial officers are being appointed. In the same fashion, retired judges of High Court who are active can be reengaged, both in larger public interest of common litigants and the judiciary.
She suggested the “pick and choose” system should not be followed in these reengagements on an ad-hoc basis, but the merits and performance of the honourable judges should be the only criteria. “If the retired judges can be appointed as chairman and members of different commissions, tribunals and authorities, they are well qualified to be re-employed as Judges on fixed tenure of three to five years,” Mrs Chhaya Mishra opined.
She wrote a letter to the union law and justice minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad to expedite appointment of retired judges in different High Courts in the interest of quicker justice.
