UP and Bihar top list of states with decade-old court cases: Law minister RS Prasad

Union law minister RS Prasad says there are more than 2.91 crore court cases pending in district and subordinate courts across the country.

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New Delhi: Justice delayed is justice denied is perhaps most true in the case of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. According to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the two states are at the top of a list of states with the highest number of decade-old court cases.

RS Prasad said on Wednesday that while UP and Bihar top this list, they are closely followed by Maharashtra. In addition, he also stated that there are more than 2.91 crore court cases pending in district and subordinate courts across the country and that out of these, 21.9 lakh are pending for more than 10 years.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Law Minister in Parliament: More than 2.91 crore court cases pending in district & subordinate courts, out of which 21.9 lakh are pending for more than 10 years. States that top the list of cases over a decade old are UP, Bihar & Maharashtra. (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/p0mmEC1BZB — ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2018

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Mishra had also pointed to the high number of court cases earlier this year and had expressed concern over undertrials who are suffering in jails. He had said that many of them may have served a sentence longer than what they would have served had they been convicted. He had further suggested that High Courts across the country takes stock of cases filed and disposed each month.

Still earlier, the matter had taken on a political colour with Congress president Rahul Gandhi targeting Prasad for the pendency of court cases. While accusing centre of meddling with the judiciary, he had said appointment of judges in lower courts happens at a slow pace which results in the number of cases pending rising.