- 10th Biennial MP State Judicial Officers’ Conference held
Bhopal: Speaking at the 10th Biennial MP State Judicial Officers’ Conference in Bhopal’s Ravindra Bhavan, Supreme Court Justice Sanjiv Khanna highlighted that Madhya Pradesh has a higher pendency rate for criminal and civil cases, standing at 1:4, compared to the national rate of 1:3.
As the chief guest of the event, Justice Khanna pointed out that the district court disposal rate in the state is 10 times higher than that of the High Court. He expressed concern about over 8 percent of pending cases being related to bail matters in Madhya Pradesh and emphasized the importance of judges focusing on delivering justice, considering the improved salary and perks they now receive.
Joining Justice Khanna, Supreme Court Justices Anirudh Bose and GK Maheshwari, along with Chief Justice of MP Ravi Malimath, stressed the need for speedy and quality disposal of cases to achieve zero pendency by 2047. They also highlighted the shortage of judges, advocating for the recruitment of qualified judges to alleviate the backlog.
SC Judge Vikram Nath added that the conviction rate is less than 1 percent, and some cases have been pending for the past 30 years in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. He suggested that states should withdraw cases when prosecution becomes impractical as some cases remain pending for decades.
