Supreme Court disposes of 52,191 cases in 2023
Dec 21, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 21 : The Supreme Court has disposed of an unprecedented 52,191 cases in 2023, 3,000 more than the 49,191 filed with its Registry, as per the data revealed by the apex court.
This year, the apex court passed verdicts in many cases pending for years before the Constitution bench including approving the Centre's decision on abrogation of Article 370 that bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, refusing to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriages, and holding that Delhi government has "legislative and executive power over services" in the national capital etc.
"In another achievement, the Supreme Court of India has been able to dispose of 52191 cases starting from January 1, 2023, to December 15, 2023, which includes 45,642 miscellaneous matters and around 6,549 regular matters. The total disposal in the year 2023 stands at 52191 in comparison to the total registration of cases, which was 49191. This shows that this year the Supreme Court was able to dispose of more cases as compared to the cases registered during the said period," the statement issued by the top court, along with the data, stated.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud streamlined the timeframe required for filing the listing of the matters, reducing the filing time from 10 days to seven to five days.
"In his tenure, there was a paradigm shift in the filing to the listing of the cases, where in place of 10 days, from listing to filing, the same was reduced to within seven to five days of listing after verification of the matter," the statement added.
The top court said that five judges and seven judges benches were also constituted, wherein two seven-judge matters were heard and in one of the cases, judgement was reserved and in the other, the judgement was pronounced.
"Important matters like Article 370, arbitration matters relating to stamped documents and their admissibility, heavy motor vehicles being driven on normal licences, settling the tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly matters, rights of LGBTQ, and other important matters have been duly heard and pronounced. With strenuous efforts, the pendency of five-judge Constitution bench matters has been reduced from 36 to 19 (in four matters, judgement is reserved), six matters pertaining to seven judges, and five matters of nine judges. In all these matters, dates have been notified for hearing," the statement further said.
The court also disposed of 2262 matters related to human liberty from May 22, 2023, to July 2, 2023, and 780 matters disposed of.
"The Supreme Court of India's unprecedented disposal in the year 2023 marks a watershed moment in the nation's legal history. The judiciary's proactive approach, coupled with the adoption of technology and strategic reforms, has set a new standard for timely and efficient justice delivery. This achievement not only reflects the resilience and adaptability of the Indian legal system but also reaffirms the judiciary's commitment to upholding the principles of justice in a rapidly evolving world," it added.
