Worried About Docket Exclusion, Not Docket Explosion: Bombay High Court's Acting Chief Justice

“I am not worried about docket explosion even for a moment, our judges are competent to deal with that…I am worried about docket exclusion”, Bombay High Court Acting Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala said on Saturday while talking about the importance of Alternate Dispute Resolution in the justice system.

Justice Gangapurwala was addressing the inauguration function of the new City Civil and Sessions Court and Metropolitan Magistrate Court Building in Mazgaon, Mumbai. The new building will include 11 Metropolitan Courts and 3 courts from Ballard Pier Court.

He expressed concern about the docket exclusion, i.e., people not approaching courts due to courts consuming a large amount of time to decide cases. Thus, he requested lawyers to take up ADR to solve the problem.

“Every now and then we talk about large number of pendency of cases, the docket explosion (large number of cases pending before the court), the menace of docket explosion. Well, I am not worried about docket explosion even for a moment. Our judges are competent to deal with that. But what I am more worried is, because of the large pendency of cases, the time it takes to decide it, I am worried about docket exclusion. Those persons, because of the pendency of cases, who do not come to the court to seek redressal of their grievances.”

Justice Gangapurwala also said that access to justice is impossible without proper infrastructure. Talking about the facilities of the new building, he shared that it is equipped with all modern equipment including e-filing facility. “We are expanding the scope of e-filing”, he said.

The old building was evacuated in 2013 after it was deemed unsafe. BMC then demolished it over the course of three years.

All operations of the Mazgaon Court are currently being conducted in Sewri Court premises. However, courts will start functioning in the new 17 storeyed building from Monday, April 24.

Justice Gangapurwala concluded his address by requesting the lawyers and judges to go hand-in-hand for dispensation of justice and work out the cases instead of adjourning them.

“From 24th you are starting here, let the first matter not be adjourned, it should be worked out”, Justice Gangapurwala said.

Justices KR Shriram, MS Karnik, Kamal Khata, Sharmila Deshmukh, and Neela Gokhale of the Bombay High Court also attended the event.