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Justice Nagarathna Seeks Judicial Reforms Commission to Tackle Case Backlog

She urged the SCBA to compile proposals for talks with top legal officers to pursue systemic fixes.

Overview

  • Speaking at the SCBA national conference in Bengaluru on March 21, Justice B V Nagarathna proposed a cross-representative judicial reforms commission to cut court pendency.
  • She outlined membership spanning the Supreme Court, High Courts, district judiciary, Bar leadership, the Attorney General, the Solicitor General, and government representatives.
  • She said the government is the largest generator of litigation, with routine precautionary appeals by officials that push disputes through multiple tiers and swell arrears.
  • She called for correcting pendency statistics by excluding defective filings until matters are procedurally ready for hearing.
  • She urged procedural and institutional changes, including judicial case management, tighter limits on adjournments, greater use of technology and ADR, specialised benches, timely appointments, and stronger funding for court infrastructure.