A lawyer from Bihar complained to the Supreme Court about the Patna High Court’s slow case disposition rate and asked the high court to order the appointment of five ad hoc judges who would hear only cases involving pending bail applications. Lawyer Pramod Kumar Pandey, who defended his client Roshan Santhalia at the Patna High Court, filed the petition.
In his plea, the lawyer stated that he preferred public interest litigation to uphold fundamental rights, particularly Article 21, which includes the right to a quick trial and just resolution for those accused of numerous offences.
The petitioner said that the petition also targets the Patna High Court’s unacceptably low case disposition rate, especially when it comes to virtual hearings since the Covid-19 pandemic’s outbreak in March 2020.
‘The inefficiency and lethargic dealing by the High Court reached a new high in 2021.’ According to data provided by the NJDG, the Patna High Court’s case clearing rate fell to 41.98% in 2021 from 87.98% in 2020, making it the least efficient High Court in 2021, just behind Rajasthan High Court, which had a case clearance percentage of 59.37% for the same year.
‘Within the criminal cases category, the disposal rate of bail applications during the ongoing pandemic is concerning. Thousands of applicants are standing in queues seeking an opportunity of being heard. While over 40,000 bail applications have been filed in the year 2021 (to date), hardly any have been listed and heard by the Hon’ble Justices of the Patna High Court,’ read the petition.
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