RS passes bill that will reduce workload on Delhi HC

A bill which seeks to reduce workload of the Delhi High Court by transfering thousands of civil suits valued up to Rs 2 crore to the 11 district courts in Delhi was passed in Rajya Sabha today.
The passage of The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2014 will not only reduce the burden from Delhi High Court but lead to "speedy" disposal of cases helping the litigants, Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said.
At present, all suits above Rs 20 lakh are heard by the High Court.
Out of the 60,000 cases pending in the Delhi High Court, 12,000 cases will be transferred to the 11 district courts, he said, adding the move would benefit people travelling from far flung areas to the High Courts.

He said while 11 District Courts were functioning in six places in Delhi, three more are coming are in the national capital.
Supporting the bill, members from various political parties also suggested several other measures to raise efficiency in the courts including the use of regional langauges in official communications in courts.

Gowda said while the Supreme Court is of the view that "it may not be possible", he was in favour of use of regional languages.
He said the issue was discussed at the recent meet of the chief ministers and judges here and needs broader consultations.
K C Tyagi (JDU) raised the long-standing demand of the people of western Uttar Pradesh for a division bench of the Allahabad High Court, lamenting delay in its implementation despite a commission recommending setting up of a division bench.

He was supported by BSP members Veer Singh and Satish Chandra Mishra. K N Balagopal (CPIM) and K Keshav Rao (TRS) also raised the demand of their states for a division bench of their respective high courts.
About the division bench in western UP, Gowda said they are yet to receive proposals from the state government, the Chief Minister or the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
"Unless a proposal comes from the state government, it is difficult to implement it," he said.
In this context, he said the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court had recently in a letter said there was no proposal to set up a bench in western UP. "However, I am in favour of it and we should find an alternative arrangement", he said.

Shadi Lal Batra (Congress), Vijay Goel (BJP), Naresh Agarwal (SP), Nadimul Haque (TMC), S Muthukaruppan (AIADMK), Dilip Tirkey (BJD), M V Rajeev Gowda (Cong), K T S Tulsi (Nom), Rajeev Shukla (Cong) also spoke.