The burden of cases on SC will reduce, CJI Surya Kant told his 2 surefire weapons, doors will open for common people

CJI Suryakant News: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has stated his first priority. He told a Hindustan Times program that his priority is to reduce the number of cases pending in the Supreme Court, for which he plans to use ‘mediation and litigation’ as two major tools. He told that he is working on this practice even before becoming CJI so that the cases can be disposed of quickly and the common people can have easy access to the Supreme Court.

My first priority (as CJI) will be a national judicial policy based on predictable timelines and speedy resolution of pending cases, he said at the HT event. He said that this goal has to be achieved through two surefire weapons namely arbitration and litigation. He further said, ‘In the last six months, I have started a mediation mission. Mediation is a tool that I wish we could popularize with the help of my other brother and sister judges.

Why does CJI want to give priority to litigation?

CJI further said in the same program, ‘The second thing is to give priority to litigation. We want to make it clear that the Supreme Court is also for the common man. The CJI also shared his plans to reform the judicial system of the country and said he will work towards sensitizing district judiciaries to improve timelines and predictability. He said, ‘For this we are planning to start training programs through the Judicial Academy and the High Court.’

Talk on digital arrest

Giving examples of digital arrest and cyber crime cases, Justice Kant said that the judiciary is facing new challenges. No one had thought that cases of digital arrest would come to light. We need to conduct regular training and make our judicial officers aware of the new challenges and how to deal with them appropriately. He said, ‘The victim may be in India, while the culprit may be on an island outside the country.’

How to go to Supreme Court?

Actually, very few people know that you can directly file a complaint in the Supreme Court – you can file a case through writ petition. That means you can go to the Supreme Court under Article 32. If your fundamental rights have been violated, you can file a writ (Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Quo Warranto, Certiorari) directly in the Supreme Court. This is the biggest right that the Constitution gives you. This is your constitutional right. No one can stop.

Other ways to know Supreme Court

1. SLP (Special Leave Petition- Article 136)- If the lower court or High Court has given a wrong decision in your case. If you do not agree with him, you can file SLP. Whether the Supreme Court accepts SLP or not is its prerogative. Most of the cases come this way.
2. PIL (Public Interest Litigation)- If the matter is of public interest (environment, corruption, human rights etc.), then any person can file PIL.

How can one go to the Supreme Court?

1. Do e-filing yourself or through a lawyer (supremecourt.gov.in).
2. The fees are very low (PIL fees are nominal).
3. But 90% of SLPs get rejected, so there should be a strong base.