‘Tarikh pe tarikh’: Pendency of criminal cases driven by systemic failures, not just courts, says Alld HC

Prayagraj: Quoting the iconic "tarikh pe tarikh” dialogue from the 1993 Bollywood film Damini, the Allahabad high court has observed that while this reflects the common man's perception of delayed justice, the massive pendency of criminal cases in district courts is not merely the fault of judicial officers, but primarily that of the state govt and the police.Due to these systemic delays, the HC said many criminals continue to commit offences without fear, and even many of them have become MLAs, MPs, and ministers. In this regard, the bench also referred to a report of the Association for Democratic Reform, which states that as of the date, 49 per cent of ministers in the Uttar Pradesh govt are involved in criminal cases, of which 44 per cent are involved in serious criminal cases.The court added that a judicial officer cannot decide cases without sufficient staff and the cooperation of the police to ensure the presence of the accused, witnesses and a proper FSL report.Rejecting the bail application filed by a Fatehpur resident, Mevalal Prajapati, a bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal observed: “Several young judicial officers, despite being honest and hardworking and entering the judiciary with the aim of delivering justice, often find themselves unable to function effectively.”The court noted that this is largely due to inadequate staff, lack of police cooperation in executing court processes such as summons and warrants, as well as faulty investigations and improper FSL reports.The bench stressed that such judicial officers become frustrated and look up to the HC for remedial measures, but even it cannot do anything. Justice Deshwal it is the state govt that must provide basic infrastructure, staff, the FSL report and police cooperation.The court made these observations while issuing a slew of directions to tackle the structural, administrative and procedural deficiencies crippling the district judiciary.The court was hearing a bail application of a murder accused where a blood-stained screwdriver was recovered, but the investigation officer failed to seek a DNA matching query from the forensic science laboratory (FSL) to determine if the blood belonged to the deceased.Considering this glaring investigative lapse, the court had earlier summoned the DGP, home secretary and director of the FSL, Uttar Pradesh.During the hearing, the FSL director apprised the court that out of 12 functioning labs in the state, only eight have DNA profilingfacilities and the labs face not only a shortage of staff but also of the latest machines required for forensic and ballistic tests.Against the backdrop of these submissions as well as based on a comprehensive study of multiple district courts, the HC pinpointed that the heavy pendency is largely driven by insufficient ministerial staff, stenographers, deposition writers and also non-execution of the court's process by the police, as well as delay in receiving the forensic report.The court also flagged the issue of personal security for judicial officers, noting that judges frequently face open threats in courtrooms and veiled intimidation in public places from criminals. It added that, unlike in Punjab and Haryana, personal security officers are not provided to all judicial officers in UP, which adversely impacts their ability to function fearlessly and issue conviction orders against hardcore criminals.The court directed the state govt to consider providing additional staff and infrastructure to the district courts, considering the heavy workload. It said the state govt shall consider making UP FSL an autonomous department under its home ministry asrequested by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, through different communications.The HC said the state govt shall also fill up vacancies in forensic science laboratories of UP, along with providing high-end instruments within one year. It said the DGP shall issue directions to all investigating officers to make a query from FSLs regarding the matching of the DNA of blood found on the blood-stained weapon and cloth with the DNA of the accused and deceased, while sending the blood samples to FSLs.The court, in its decision dated May 7, also directed that a copy of this order be placed before the UP chief minister for his perusaland action. The court further directed the director, JTRI to sensitise the judicial officers about the relevant Rules of BNSS Rules, 2024, as well as E-Processes Rules, 2026, regarding the generation and electronic transmission of E-summons, E-warrants and other court processes.