Lawyer files petition in SC seeking annual budget for judiciary

A lawyer filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking direction to the respondents, Central and State Governments, to allocate a certain percentage of the annual budget to the judiciary which will spend the amount itself depending upon the priorities for such spending.

The petition, filed by lawyer Reepak Kansal, before the Supreme Court sought a direction for the constitution of a separate Secretariat with the Supreme Court and High Courts to manage the funds allocated to the judiciary.

The petition stated that the judiciary needs to be separately dealt with in the plans by the Planning Commission and the Finance Commission.

The allocation of the bigger portion of the budget in the segments was provided, other than the judiciary, due to which the latter is not able to discharge its functions as expected.

"There is a need of constituting a separate Secretariat with the Supreme Court and High Courts to manage the funds allocated to the judiciary. The Secretary-General who heads the said Secretariat should be assisted by the secretaries who should be having sufficient experience in finance and budget handling," the petition said.

It further stated that it would be the duty of the Secretariat to ensure that the budget allocated to the judiciary is optimally utilized for the creation of adequate infrastructure including identifying the place for building new courts.

"It is a matter of great concern that Center and State Governments are not even spending 1% of the Budget allocated to the Judiciary which is necessary for the development of judicial infrastructure and its functioning," the petition filed by Kansal stated.

It also alleged that the subordinate courts in India, have been facing hardships during day to day working due to lack of infrastructure and improper funds.

The petition demanded that the Center and States should provide requisite resources to the judiciary without cutting/rejecting the demands made by it so that it is able to smoothly discharge its' judicial functions. "To have an independent Judiciary in India is not merely a fundamental right of the citizen but is part of the basic structure of the Constitution as held by the Supreme Court," the petition said.

"The Judges in all courts are constantly under the pressure of the overburden of the cases and its early disposal which can lead to a miscarriage of Justice. In our country, the judicial system has been functioning with a lower than sanctioned number of judges," the petition said.

It further stated that an inadequate allocation of funds by the Center and states have adversely affected staffing, functioning, and quality which has been destroying the purpose of the judicial' system. Adequacy of judicial infrastructure is a prerequisite for the reduction of pendency and backlog of cases in courts.

( With inputs from ANI )