Courts must work for a min 300 days a year to curb pending cases: Cong MP

Senior advocate and Congress Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh Vivek Tankha on Friday said courts should remain functional for at least 300 days a year to reduce the pendency of cases.

Judges can go on leave but not courts, and only then can five crore pending cases be disposed of, he said.

"Judges can go on leave but not courts. They should remain functional for at least 300 days in a year and then only the five crore cases pending in the courts will be disposed of. It should not happen that the entire court goes on vacation," he told reporters.

"This was the practice during the British period when the judges went back home, so they declared a two-month holiday for courts like schools. If the court remains open then pending cases will be disposed of in a speedy manner. Currently, courts remain open for 200 days (per year). If a reform takes place then they will remain functional for at least 300 days," he added.

Asked about the controversy over the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer film 'Pathaan' and opposition to it by some right-wing groups, Tankha said those having objections to a film must approach the Censor Board as that was the appropriate forum.

"If this system of having personal objection about a film or an artist commences, then it will be endless, which is not good for films as well as society," Tankha contended.