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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court has sought the central government's reply on the solution to the issue of large pendency of cases and absence of facilities at the Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRT) for efficient conduct of proceedings there.

On perusal of the photographs submitted by the Amicus Curiae Advocate Sanjeev Bhandari, a division bench of Justice Najmi Waziri and Justice Gaurang Kanth said, “The state of affairs shown in the photographs cannot be considered of a forum’s conducive discharge of responsibility of adjudication by a Presiding Officer. It is more of a ‘dump of files and records’ from which retrieval of cases would not be an easy task”.

The Amicus Curiae submitted that approximately 10 to 15 Tribunals should be established and operational in Delhi to address case backlogs and adjudicate the number of new cases filed daily. He contended that this augmentation is especially important in the context of the time-bound disposition of matters contemplated by the relevant statutes.

The division bench directed the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, to look into the issues raised and the concerns of the litigants.

“Let the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services look into the matter apropos the issues highlighted and the concerns of the court and litigants, with respect to i) the provision of courtrooms and facilities amenable for the efficient conduct of court proceedings and ii) for augmentation of the number of Tribunals in the context of large pendency of cases and large quantum of monies lying locked in litigation”, the court said.

Furthermore, the court directed the Ministry of Finance, to file a comprehensive affidavit with the prior approval of the Secretary of the said Department/Ministry.

The court also directed the Registrar, DRAT to file a status report on the renovation work, if any, being carried out for the re-creation of the amenable courtrooms, to facilitate the conduct of meaningful proceedings. “The report shall also address i) the issue of storage/disposal records of disposed-off cases after digitization of the same, as may be, as well as ii) the e-filing of petitions”, the court said.

Accordingly, the bench listed the matter for further consideration on February 7, 2023.

Case Title: Indu Kapoor v. AU Small Finance Bank & Anr.