NEW DELHI: Stays on proceedings ordered by high courts and the Supreme Court delay trial by up to 6.5 years, according to a study by the law ministry. Significantly, the average life of a case is 10-15 years.
In effect, a case remains in limbo for 50% of its life span because of stays granted by the higher judiciary. The study, which covered the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Odisha HCs, found that trial proceedings had been stayed by superior courts in more than 15,300 civil and criminal cases.
The findings are based on analysis of the annual reports of these HCs. There are 24 HCs in the country, and the data coming out on the number of cases stayed is just a fraction of the total number of cases stayed, a source said. Interestingly, not all HCs are publishing annual reports, making it difficult to ascertain the "accurate and complete picture". "There is no uniformity in the manner in which the judicial statistics are being provided in the annual reports, making it difficult to compare data," says the report.
Saying that the high number of stays being granted affect both civil and criminal cases, the report notes, "It can be observed that the average time for which the trial proceedings remains stayed in the life cycle of a case is as high as 6.5 years."
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