NJDG data says 63 lakh cases considered delayed due to non-availability of counsel: CJI Chandrachud
Amaravati (PTI): Over 63 lakh cases across the country have been considered to be delayed due to non-availability of counsel and over 14 lakh cases are delayed as they await some kind of document or record, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said on Friday here.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy, Justice Chandrachud said people must get rid of the colonial mindset of referring to and treating the district courts as subordinate judiciary in hierarchy and in practice. They are not only the backbone of the judiciary but also the first interaction with the judicial institution for many.
Bail, but not jail, is one of the most fundamental rules of the criminal justice system. Yet in practice the number of undertrials languishing in prisons in India reflects a paradoxical situation, deprivation of liberty, even for a single day is a day too many, he further said.
"Across the country according to the NJDG (National Judicial Data Grid) data, almost 14 lakh cases have been delayed as some kind of record or document is being awaited which is beyond the control of the court," he said.
"Similarly, across the country over 63 lakh cases have been considered to be delayed, as per NJDG data due to non-availability of counsel. We really need the support of the Bar to ensure that our courts are functioning at optimum capacity," the CJI said.
He, however, said it may be much higher or lesser as more data is yet to be received from all courts.
Speaking about district courts, he asserted that Section 438 of the CrPC (bail) and Section 439 (cancellation of bail) must not be meaningless, mechanical, procedural remedies which are perceived at the grassroots level, at the district judiciary, only to get a rejection and then move to a higher court.
According to him, remedies must be provided by the district judiciary itself as they affect the poorest of the country.
Justice Chandrachud said there is also a brooding sense of fear among the courts of the first instance, on how the grant of anticipatory bail or a normal bail will be perceived at the higher level and that fear is not purely irrational.
"There have been multiple cases where trial court judges have been pulled up for grant of bail in certain High Courts. The performance of judges has been analysed on the basis of their conviction rate. At the chief justices conference, I have specifically called upon the chief justices to ensure that such practices are done away with," he said.
The Chief Justice said women legal professionals have outnumbered men coming into the judicial fraternity.
He suggested judicial officers who have several limitations in mingling freely in society, to focus on what is happening in the outside world and judges should give a sense of emotional stability in the discharge of their tasks.
The CJI said Justice Clocks which will shortly be set up in every court establishment to ensure monitoring of the progress of cases.
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Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
