Cases related to women, corruption are priority:CJI Sathasivam

Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam today said courts should give priority to cases pertaining to women, corruption and arbitration as well as environment.
He also noted that trend of litigation has changed where the apex court is forced to hear "very very politically sensational matters," when earlier it concentrated mostly on constitutional issues.
The CJI was speaking on the occasion of 99th birth anniversary of former Supreme Court judge, Justice V R Krishna Iyer, whom he described as a rare combination of a legislator and an eminent judicial officer and a person who never bent his values under external pressures.

"I am informing as the head of the judiciary that in the Supreme Court as well as by way of letters to all the chief justices (of high courts), I have reminded that responsibility is to give priority to these type of cases and listing those cases on the top of the list.
"I have only seven year experience in this city and in this court, now the trend of cases in the Supreme Court has changed. In those days the Supreme Court concentrated mostly on the constitutional issues now a days we are forced to hear very very politically sensational matters," the CJI said.

He said he has the statistic of cases pertaining to women, cases arising under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Special Leave Petitions and appeals filed against arbitration on his table and his "endeavour is these type of cases should be given priority".
"I am persuading my colleagues to take up those cases and try to dispose of early. Even the environment cases in last two years have risen.... The bench hearing green cases are forced to sit three days a week to dispose of these cases early. I am referring these cases only because some doubts have been expressed so silently we judges now a days are doing and disposing of many matters," he said.

He added that now the trend of litigation has changed and judges are trying their best and also expressed happiness that out of the total strength of 31, the apex court has 30 judges at present.