HCs rapped over pendency of 8L execution pleas

THE Supreme Court has recently directed the High Courts to work out an effective mechanism for prompt disposal of over 8 lakh execution petitions pending in various lower courts across the country.

- SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi

Expressing its disappointment, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal, in its October 16 order, said, "The statistics which we have received are highly disappointing. The figures of the pendency of the execution petitions across the country are alarming. As on date, 8,82,578 execution petitions are pending nationwide."

While the court acknowledged that in the last six months, 3,38,685 execution petitions have been disposed of, it emphasised that over 8 lakh remain to be disposed of quickly. The court made these observations after going through a consolidated data from various High Courts and District Courts over the status of execution plea pendency and disposal.