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Small-cause judges can help clear cases Monday, September 3, 2001

BY AMIT MUKHERJEE, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Like most civil suits, Dinanath Pathak's case continues even after 12 years, with the man neck-deep in debts and justice taking long in coming.

In Ahmedbad, there are more than 70,000 cases pending in the city civil courts with many dragging on for more than a decade. About a lakh criminal complaints are also pending in the magisterial courts due to heavy work burden.

But still senior division judges appointed at the Ahmedabad Small Causes Court, under the Presidency Small Causes Courts Act, continue to sit without much work on hand. Despite their positions being technically higher than senior division judges, and just below a district judge, their powers are limited.

The category of cases they handle are much below the level handled by judges lower than them in the judicial hierarchy. The cases are of less significant nature and parties involved even do not bother to turn up. Representations have been made for the last five years to the state legal department to effect changes in the legislation and enhance the powers of the small cause court judges so that the burden of litigation in the city is shared. But the government has turned a deaf ear to it.

Senior division judges at the district level have unlimited jurisdiction with powers to take up all kinds of civil disputes and monetary matters. But the judges of Small Causes Court of Ahmedabad, though being higher than the senior division judges, have powers curbed under the PSCC Act restricting them to take up only tenancy disputes and matters of monetary recoveries within a Rs 5,000 limit.

The Ahmedabad Bar Association has been making several representations to the state government to amend the PSCC Act so that jurisdiction of the judges presiding over the small causes courts can be extended. "The matters handled by the small causes court are of less importance. An amendment in the Act is necessary so that unnecessary burden on the judiciary which is retarding case-disposal can be dealt with," says Haresh Shah former president of the ABA.

At the city civil court, suits pertaining to monetary recoveries more than Rs 5000 are there in thousands. "There is a backlog of about 70,000 ongoing cases, including motor vehicle disputes, civil suits, insolvency matters, property disputes, government suits, and most are adjourned repeatedly," laments ABA secretary Himanshu Trivedi.

According to Shah, a suit of involving Rs 25000 at the civil court takes on an average about 10 years. "Representations are being made for several years now to amend the PSCC Act. Judges of the small causes court should be empowered to entertain recovery matters up to Rs 2 lakh, or at least Rs 50,000 or more so that the back logs in the city civil court be brought down."

Even a judge of the small cause court admits: "Filing of cases in this court have drastically come down and we can handle more work." But, he said, the issue of amendment is lying at the state law commission's 'cold storage' for more than two years.

The powers enjoyed by the small cause court judges are even less than that of a metropolitan magistrate, although the former is a rank up in the hierarchy. "With a backlog of about one lakh cases, under the NI Act, which at times drag on for five years or more, amendments in the PSSC Act can definitely help people get speedy justice," says Small Cause Court Bar Association joint secretary Sudhir Brahmbhatt.

He said with nearly 300 matters coming up before the 17 magisterial courts already burdened with loads of regular bail and other matters, the process of justice could get a fillip if these cases are distributed among the 13 small causes courts.

News Source : Times News Network [ Lightning News ]

 

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