KalingaTV News Network
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Dipak Misra has written to the Chief Justices of all High Courts in the country asking them to constitute special benches on Saturdays for hearing criminal appeals in which legal aid has been provided by the government.
The CJI’s letter highlights the issue of increasing pendency of cases, specially criminal appeals, due to delay in their disposal.
“As you are aware, a large number of criminal appeals/ jail appeals are pending in various High Courts. Delay in disposal of these appeals raises question about the efficacy of the administration of justice as a whole and criminal justice system in particular,” the letter said.
To achieve the target of hearing appeals not more than five years old, the CJI suggested early hearings on criminal appeals filed directly by inmates languishing in jails.
In his letter, Justice Misra acknowledged that one of the methods to ensure speedy disposal of such appeals was to identify and dispose of such appeals in which legal aid has been provided at state expense.
“May I, therefore, impress upon you to explore the possibility of hearing such criminal appeals/jail appeals, in which legal-aid-counsel has been provided, on Saturdays by specially constituted Bench for the purpose, after obtaining consent of the concerned legal aid counsel and State counsel. This will go a long way in ensuring speedy disposal of criminal appeals/jail appeals,” Justice Misra wrote.
Five High Courts across the country have already constituted special benches to hear criminal appeals in cases where the accused has got a lawyer at the expense of a state through the legal aid cell.
These newly constituted benches come under High Courts of Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
Kalinga AI