Govt to help ease case backlog: law minister

Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday said the government will take initiatives to settle pending cases so that at least five to six lakh such cases can be cleared from the existing backlog within this year.

“It’s not possible to dispose of all the 31 lakh pending cases within a year, but it’s possible to reduce the number by five to six lakh,” he said.

“The government will take necessary programmes and increase manpower in this regard. I have already talked to the chief justice about this issue,” the minister said.

Anisul Huq made the remarks while talking to reporters after attending the inauguration of a training course for assistant judges at Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI) as chief guest.

As of March 31 last year, a total of 35,82,347 cases were pending with the courts across the country.

Around 30.53 lakh cases were pending with the lower courts, some 22,000 cases with the Appellate Division and 5.06 lakh with the High Court Division till March 31 last year, according to a Supreme Court report.

Yesterday, the law minister told reporters that the government will also take initiatives so that more cases are disposed of outside the court -- under the alternative dispute regulation system.

Necessary training will be provided to the lower court judges in this regard, he said.

Earlier in the day, the minister inaugurated the four-month foundation training for assistant judges.

JATI Director General Justice Khondker Musa Khaled and Law Secretary Md Golam Sarwar also spoke on the occasion.