‘Some persons’ were trying to boss over judiciary, and the legal fraternity should oppose such attempts, said Justice N.V. Ramana here on Saturday.
Addressing a gathering at the centenary celebrations of Telangana High Court building, Justice N.V. Ramana, who is also a member of the Supreme Court Collegium, said attempts to control the judiciary by some persons would not augur well for the system. Making these observations towards the end of his speech in Telugu, the apex court judge said the judiciary has faced such challenges in the past too.
“We emerged victorious after facing such situations and won people’s credibility,” the judge remarked.
“There is no need to fear. Let us resolve to fight against such domination,” the judge said.
Speaking on ‘Judicial Journey- The Road Ahead’, Justice N.V. Ramana said pendency of cases was a big challenge to the Indian judiciary now.
There were nearly 3.3 crore cases pending in different courts in the country, he said and added that a majority of them were in district courts. Owing to this, several under-trial prisoners were languishing in prisons, while some convicts have spent more time in jails than the jail term that they were sentenced to.
Litigations have also been going up due to awareness about law among people, he said. The delay in disposal of cases needs to be addressed immediately, and for this, technology should be put to use. Though technology was being effectively used at the apex court and the High Courts, the subordinate courts were far behind, he said.
Justice N.V. Ramana as well as Justice B. Subhash Reddy of the Supreme Court assured the gathering that they would do their best to increase the sanctioned strength of Telangana High Court from the present 24 to 42. The matter has been taken to the notice of the SC Collegium, said Justice N.V. Ramana. He added that the names suggested for HC judges earlier would be considered and cleared soon.
Telangana HC Acting Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan said the small army of judges of the HC was fighting a big battle of pending cases. More courts and manpower were the need of the hour, he said.
