Rising case backlog: Supreme Court cases up by 35% in 5 years
New Delhi: The Law Minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, revealed alarming statistics to the Lok Sabha regarding the escalating backlog of court cases across India. According to his statement, the number of pending cases in the Supreme Court surged by 35% over the past five years, from 59,859 in 2019 to 80,765 by the end of 2023. Despite functioning at full capacity during this period, the court witnessed an increase of approximately 20,900 cases.
The situation is similarly concerning in the High Courts, where pending cases rose from 46.8 lakh in 2019 to 62 lakh in 2023, marking a 33% increase with an additional 15 lakh cases. The subordinate courts, however, bear the highest burden, with 4.4 crore pending cases recorded at the close of 2023. This reflects a 38% increase from 2019, where the backlog stood at 3.2 crore cases.
Minister Meghwal attributed these staggering increases to various factors, including inadequate physical infrastructure, insufficient support staff, complexities in case nature and evidence, legal procedures, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders such as lawyers, investigating agencies, witnesses, and defendants.
The rising backlog in India's judiciary poses significant challenges and calls for urgent measures to streamline judicial processes and enhance infrastructure to ensure timely justice delivery.
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Centre launches national childhood diabetes screening, treatment framework
New Delhi (PTI): The Union Health Ministry on Sunday released a guidance document providing a framework for screening, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of childhood diabetes.
According to the ministry, the document, for the first time, establishes a structured and standardised national framework, positioning India among a select group of countries that have integrated childhood diabetes care into the public health system.
The "Guidance Document on Diabetes Mellitus in Children" was released at the National Summit on Best Practices in Public Healthcare Service Delivery, concluded on May 1-2.
According to a statement by the ministry, the framework aims to ensure universal screening of all children from birth to 18 years through community and school-based platforms for early identification of diabetes.
Suspected cases will undergo immediate blood glucose testing and be referred to district-level health facilities for confirmatory diagnosis and treatment, it said.
A key feature of the initiative is the provision of a comprehensive free-of-cost care package at public health facilities, including screening, diagnostic services, lifelong insulin therapy, glucometers, test strips and regular follow-up care.
The initiative seeks to reduce the financial burden on families and ensure uninterrupted treatment for children diagnosed with diabetes.
The document also lays down an integrated continuum of care linking community-level screening with district hospital-based management and advanced care at medical colleges to ensure seamless follow-up and treatment.
To strengthen early detection, the guidance promotes the "4Ts" awareness framework -- Toilet, Thirsty, Tired and Thinner -- to help parents, teachers and caregivers recognise early warning signs of type 1 Diabetes.
Besides clinical protocols, the document focuses on family and caregiver empowerment through structured training on insulin administration, blood glucose monitoring, emergency response and daily disease management.
The statement stated the initiative is expected to reduce mortality through early detection, prevent complications and improve the quality of life of affected children while strengthening the public health system's capacity to manage non-communicable diseases among children.
