Delhi to Hire 427 Staff to Clear Trial Court Backlog

4:09 PM ETDeveloping

World Desk

In Short: The Delhi government will create 427 new posts to help clear the backlog of over 20,000 criminal cases listed daily in trial courts.

The Delhi government has approved the creation of 427 ancillary posts for 53 fast track special courts (FTSCs) to address the backlog of over 20,000 criminal cases listed daily before Delhi’s trial courts.

Court staff are currently operating at around 80% of sanctioned strength, with more than 1,700 posts lying vacant against a sanctioned strength of 8,575.

The additional staff is expected to enable the courts to function more effectively and speed up trials.

The new posts will also facilitate day-to-day hearings, with trial courts now directing accused persons seeking bail to file affidavits containing relevant details before arguments are heard to expedite proceedings and maintain transparency.

What's still developing

Court staff, meanwhile, are operating at around 80% of sanctioned strength, which hasn’t been revised in close to two decades.
While the Delhi government is building new courts and creating additional posts, there is some internal change underway as well.
“…When the stage of examination of witnesses starts, such examination shall be continued from day-to-day until all the witnesses in attendance have been examined, except for special reasons to be recorded in writing,” it said.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
With pendency in Delhi’s trial courts rising by around one lakh cases every year, Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Tuesday approved the creation of 427 ancillary posts for 53 fast track special courts (FTSCs) across the Capital, as part of efforts to expand judicial capacity and speed up trials.
The new posts include 58 readers, 116 stenographers and 116 ahlmads, among others, and are expected to cost the government Rs 37 crore.
Earlier, posts for 53 judges had been created for the FTSCs with the LG’s approval.
There are just over 740 judges in Delhi’s trial courts, a number that has remained stagnant since 2015.

Sources

The Indian Expresslink