High pendency of cases biggest challenge: Justice Bhandari

"This is not only delaying disposal of the cases but also disappointing the people, who have their expectations from the judiciary for the redressal of their grievances growing," said Bhandari who is here for two days to attend a series of functions to felicitate him.

64-year-old Bhandari, a senior Supreme Court Judge, will serve a seven-year term in the ICJ which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations based in The Hague, Netherlands.

Referring to the causes behind high pendency of cases, he said the awareness among people has grown and they have become more vigilant about their rights.

"This phenomenon is driving people to resort to courts for the settlement of the disputes either the commercial or those pertaining to violation or infringement of the rights," he said.

He said to deal with growing pendency of cases, the infrastructure will have to be enhanced by setting up new courts and increasing the number of judges and judicial staff.

"Constant introduction of new legislations is also a cause of spurt in the filing of cases in the courts," he said.

He also opined that like the courts in other countries and the Supreme Court of India, emphasis should be on written submission of arguments instead of oral arguments.

"It helps the court in seeing the case in its right perspective while drafting the order and also saves the courts from the dissatisfaction of the advocates, who often complain that their point or arguments were not heard by the court fully," he said.

Justice Bhandari was also of the view that the higher courts should keep in mind the problems and issues of the lower courts and should maintain the discipline and judicial decorum in the courts.

"The judges of high courts should have a guiding and friendly attitude towards the judicial officers and should give full regard to the orders or judgements of the lower courts instead of keeping a biased or derogatory approach to them, which happens often", justice Bhandari said.