Govt to push bill to remove 65 more obsolete laws in Parliament session: Kiren Rijiju
Panaji (PTI): Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said the government would push a bill in the Parliament session, which will resume on March 13, to repeal 65 more obsolete laws and other such provisions.
Addressing the 23rd Commonwealth Law Conference in Goa, the minister informed
that more than 4.98 crore cases are pending in various courts in India and the pendency would be handled using technology, with a "paperless judiciary" being the ultimate aim of the government.
"Today, in every part of our country, every citizen is a beneficiary of the welfare steps taken by the Government of India. As a welfare state, it is very important that we listen to every individual," he said.
Rijiju said the Modi government has been at the forefront of taking various steps, especially in creating "ease of living" for common citizens. "Policies of the government regarding the ease of living are successful," he said.
The law minister said the government believes that laws are for the people and if laws become obstacles and compliances become a burden on the lives of people, then such provisions must be done away with.
"In the last eight-and-a-half years, we have removed 1,486 obsolete and redundant laws. In the ongoing budget session, which will resume on March 13, I am going to push a bill to remove another 65 bills (laws) and other provisions that are obsolete," he added.
Rijiju said the government wants a reduction in the pendency of the cases.
"More than 4 crore 98 lakh cases are pending in various courts of India. It is not easy to reduce the pendency simply because new cases are double the number of cases being disposed of. Indian Judges are working extraordinarily hard but it is becoming more challenging," he added.
The minister said, in normal circumstances, a judge handles 50-60 cases a day on average. "Some judges have disposed of 200 cases in a day but the pendency of cases is on the rise".
Rijiju said the government is using technology to handle this situation.
"We have started e-courts and special projects-phase III,.. our ultimate target is to make Indian Judiciary paperless," he said, adding that the government is also exploring other dispute redressal mechanisms like arbitration and mediation.
"Very soon we will be able to push through Mediation Bill so that mediation and arbitration can be institutionalized in the country," he added.
Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and others were present during the inauguration of the five-day conference on Monday.
Representatives from 52 countries are participating in the event.
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Complainants hail HC order dismissing CM's petition challenging Guv's order
Bengaluru (PTI): The complainants, who were granted sanction by the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot after they sought an order for probe from the special court against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a site allotment case, on Tuesday hailed the High Court's verdict dismissing his petition challenging the approval.
The Chief Minister had challenged the approval given by Gehlot for an investigation against him in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in a prime locality.
The Governor on August 16 accorded sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions submitted to him by the three complainants -- Abraham T J, Snehamayi Krishna and Pradeep Kumar S P.
“We had petitioned in the High Court seeking the dismissal of Siddaramaiah's plea. Whatever objections we had filed, the order has come accordingly, which is a matter of pleasure for us,” Abraham told reporters soon after a single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed Siddaramaiah’s petition.
When told that the Chief Minister may challenge the order in the division bench, Abraham said: “Let him challenge in the division bench. He will use his legal rights. Since he is moving the (High Court's) division bench, we are filing a caveat there.”
Krishna said: “We had brought to the notice of the High Court that Siddaramaiah’s role is there in the irregularities. Accordingly, the Honourable Court gave its order.”
Krishna claimed that there was "unshakable" documentary evidence available against the Chief Minister. “He will lose whichever court he goes to."
After completing the hearings on the petition in six sittings from August 19, Justice Nagaprasanna on September 12 reserved the verdict.
On August 19, Siddaramaiah moved the High Court challenging the legality of the Governor's order.
