Recently, the Uttarakhand High Court achieved the milestone of attaining zero pendency in Death Reference cases.
At the beginning of this year, there were a total of 11 Death Reference Cases pending before the High Court. (The oldest of those cases was Reference No. 1 of 2018), and with the conscious efforts of the Bench and the Bar, the High Court has successfully disposed of all the death Reference cases.
It may be noted that Special Benches were constituted to expedite the hearing and disposal of long-pending death reference cases.
"Out of 71 Criminal Appeals, 09 Death Reference cases have been decided by the Division Bench comprising of Hon'ble the Chief Justice and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Alok Kumar Verma and 02 Death Reference cases have been decided by the Division Bench comprising of Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ravindra Maithani and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Alok Kumar Verma.", the note published on High Court's website says.
With the disposal of all pending death reference cases, there is no death reference case pending before the Uttarakhand High Court.
The note says that "this unprecedented achievement demonstrates the commitment of the Court towards ensuring speedy and effective delivery of justice for the victims and their families. The High Court remains committed to upholding the principles of justice and efficiency in its judicial process."