Judicial system under strain, pending cases a challenge: Govt

"...Now it is well established that India's judicial system is under strain. There are three crore cases pending, with two crore getting added up every year," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on 'Justice at Doorstep and Legal Aid to the Poor'.

He, however, said the government was making efforts to bring down the number of cases and has adopted multi-pronged strategy in this regard.

"We achieved a net reduction in pendency of over 6 lakh cases in the country last year and we have set a target of reduction in pendency by over 20 lakh this year," he said.

Addressing the conference, he said that under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, efforts were being made to speed up appointment of judicial officers so that disputes at the block level, which do not pertain to serious offences, are settled at the earliest.

This will not only save time and money of the people, but also restore and strengthen their faith in the justice delivery system, he said.

Kumar said both Punjab and Haryana governments have announced their decision to set up two Gram Nyayalayas in each state.

In Haryana, these will be set up in Shahabad near Kurukshetra and another in Ryaya in Sirsa district, while in Punjab these will be set up in Nangal in Ropar and other in Kot Ise Khan.

With worldwide outrage over the recent gang-rape in Delhi, he advocated fast tracking of cases against women including rape.

Kumar said that in the last two years, the Centre has given Rs 1,200 crore to different states including Rs 66 crore to Punjab and Rs 36 crore to Haryana for establishing physical infrastructure for implementation of legal aid schemes.

He said that till August 2012, legal aid/advice has been rendered to 1.25 crore people, out of which 15 lakh belong to Scheduled Castes and 5 lakh to Scheduled Tribes.