New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to its registry, the Centre and the city government on a petition seeking directions to set up 42 more commercial courts in the national capital to ensure a speedy redressal of commercial cases.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued the notice while hearing a plea moved by a social activist and lawyer Amit Sahni.
The court has granted four weeks’ time to the registry to file a response on why commercial courts have not been set up in terms of the last order.
The PIL matter has sought directions for setting up more commercial courts, as per Delhi government’s notice dated April 13, 2021, to ensure speedy redressal of commercial cases.
The plea stated that despite the High Court’s order dated July 5, 2022, directing its Registrar General, Government of NCT Delhi and others to set up 42 commercial courts within six months’ time, the same is not done till date.
Earlier, the same bench had noted its administrative side’s submission stating that a shortage of courtrooms is coming in the way of immediately starting additional commercial courts which will be established once the infrastructure is completed.
“The delay caused in the dispensation of justice has taken note of High Courts and the Supreme Court from time to time and the directions have been issued to recruit the pending vacancies in different courts of the country,” the petitioner said.
At present, only 22 commercial courts are functioning in the capital.
The petition read: “As against the world’s best practice towards the timeline for disposal of commercial disputes of 164 days, Delhi takes 747 days in deciding a commercial dispute. Mumbai, on average, takes only 182 days.”
“Delhi courts have been over-burdened, as per the data available on the official website of District Courts, Delhi,” the petitioner added.
(IANS)
