Tackling backlog top priority: Justice Kant

Ahead of taking charge as the country's 53rd Chief Justice, justice Surya Kant identified tackling the Supreme Court's backlog of nearly 90,000 pending cases and promoting mediation as his key priorities when he assumes office on Monday.

- Utkarsh Anand

“One of my foremost challenges is the arrears in the Supreme Court. Today's scoreboard shows nearly 90,000 cases pending,” the CJI-designate said in an interview to HT. “My goal is optimum utilisation of force. As CJI, I have to take care of arrears on a pan-India basis.”

Justice Kant said thousands of cases remain stuck because related issues are pending before the Supreme Court, preventing high courts and lower courts from taking them up. “I will find those matters, ensure benches are constituted, and have them decided. I will also try to see the oldest matters,” he said, adding that healthy practices of approaching lower courts first need to be revived.

On mediation, he said: “We must identify a solution, and one of the easiest solutions, which can be a game changer, is mediation. We will have to persuade government agencies to come forward and pursue mediation.”