Over 1.5 lakh cases pending in J&K courts | Out of 19 judges, only 9 posted in HC | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad Early Times Report Srinagar, July 27: The number of cases pending in courts in Jammu and Kashmir are only piling up by the day, as almost 50 percent posts of judges are vacant in the state. As per the official details available with Early Times, Jammu and Kashmir has strength of 17 judges in the High Court. However, only nine judges are presently posted and eight posts are lying vacant. Jammu and Kashmir is one among three states in the country which has almost 50 percent posts vacant of judges. "Had we filled up all these posts, then there could have been speedy trial in cases in the state," a source said. At the same time, over 1.50 lakh cases are pending in courts in the state. The highest number is criminal cases followed by civil cases. The cases pending between 2 to 5 years are almost 50,000 while those pending for less than two years are around 80,000. Rest are pending for more than 5 years. At the same time, the government has failed to establish Fast Track Courts (FTC) in the state. In absence of these courts, the cases in the High court and district courts have been piling up for years together in the state. Establishing subordinate courts including FTCs is the domain of the state governments, which in consultation with the respective High Courts set-up such courts. Courts in Jammu region have 79,816 pending cases. Of which Jammu district has 42937 cases, Kathua 5133, Reasi 2379, Poonch 3681, Kishtwar 1835, Doda 4280, Rajouri 6346, Ramban 2076, Samba 5503 and Udhampur 5646 cases respectively. More than 8,237 cases in Jammu region are pending for nearly a decade due to the shortage of manpower. Centre recently sanctioned Rs 48.35 crores for establishing 21 Fast Track Courts in all the districts of the state. Earlier the Centre had released Rs three crore to state from 2000 to 2005. Many states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat have been receiving constant funding from the Central government since 2005-11. |
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