Supreme Court of India organises “National Conference on Addressing Issues Faced by the State Judiciary”
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Date: 02.02.2025
PRESS RELEASE
Supreme Court of India organises “National Conference on Addressing Issues Faced by the State Judiciary”
The Supreme Court of India, under the guidance of the Chief Justice of India, Mr Justice Sanjiv Khanna, organized a “National Conference on Addressing Issues Faced by the State Judiciary” on February 01, 2025 at the Multi-purpose Hall, Administrative Buildings Complex, Supreme Court of India. The idea behind this Conference was to engage in a meaningful dialogue with different stakeholders and functionaries in the State Judiciary, especially the District Courts, to first understand the challenges being faced by them and thereafter, chalk out a plan to address the same.
The Conference had four Technical Sessions, which covered diverse topics affecting the performance of State Judiciary. The 1st Technical Session which was chaired by Mr Justice Sanjiv Khanna and co- chaired by Mr Justice Abhay S. Oka, Mrs Justice B.V. Nagarathna; and Mr Justice Dipankar Datta, witnessed discussions on: Ways to narrow the gulf between Institution & Disposal of cases; Identification of case types flooding the judicial dockets; Identification of bottlenecks in case disposal; Strategies to reduce backlog of cases at different levels.
In the 2nd Technical Session, which was Chaired by Mr Justice B.R. Gavai and co- chaired by Mr Justice P.S. Narasimha and Mr Justice K.V. Viswanathan, the feasibility of having a uniform case categorization in different Courts was explored. In this Session, ways to leverage technology better to optimize the judicial processes was also deliberated upon.
In the 3rd Technical Session, which was Chaired by Mr Justice Surya Kant and co- chaired by Mr Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Mr Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, there were discussions about timely recruitment of Judicial Officers and Court Staff; continual recruitment/empanelment of Public Prosecutors/Legal Aid Counsels/Legal Aid Defence Counsels; creation of a permanent IT and Data Cadre in all High Courts and District Courts; the need for an objective and transparent transfer policy of Judicial Officers; and measures to enhance objectivity in the process of recommending suitable candidates from District Judiciary for elevation to the High Courts.
In the 4th Technical Session, which was Chaired by Mr Justice Sanjiv Khanna and co- chaired by Mr Justice Vikram Nath; Mr Justice M.M. Sundresh; and Ms Justice Bela Trivedi there were discussions on Career Progression and Continuous Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers; Mentoring of Judicial Officers by Inspecting Judges as well as State Judicial Academies; need for establishing a common curriculum for training and capacity building of Judicial Officers; and ways of ensuring accountability of Judicial Officers and Court Staff.
Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court; and Chief Justices and Judges of various High Courts graced the occasion. The Conference witnessed participation of District Judges from all States and Union Territories. Senior officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice also attended the Conference yesterday.
The Conference was followed by a meeting of the Chief Justices of High Court and Senior- most Judges of the High Court with the Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B.R. Gavai, Judge Supreme Court of India and Justice Surya Kant, Judge Supreme Court of India today. Issues relating to filling up of vacancies in High Courts, appointment of ad-hoc Judges in High Courts and establishment of Evening Courts were discussed.
This Conference gave an invaluable opportunity to all stakeholders within the judiciary to come together and engage in a meaningful dialogue to addresses the challenges faced by the State judiciary.
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