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18. However, the above analysis was not pursued any further, since there was no way of ascertaining which of the hearings were effective and which were non-effective. Hence, it could be misleading to draw any conclusions from this data.

19. On the basis of the aforesaid data it is clear that problems which the administration of justice faces today is of serious dimensions.

Pendency is merely a localized problem, in the sense that it affects some High Courts far more than others. As seen above, just four High Courts in this country amount for 76.9% of the pendency. This may well be because of various social, political and economic factors, which are beyond the scope of the current enquiry by this Court.

20. It is a matter of serious concern that 41% of the cases have been pending for 2-4 years, and 8% (approximately 1 out of every 12 cases) have been pending for more than six years.

34. Everyone has the right to have any dispute that can be resolved by the application of law decided in a fair public hearing before a court or, where appropriate, another independent and impartial tribunal or forum."

50. The learned Amicus urged that having regard to the paramount importance of the right to access, the Court which he argues is a basic fundamental right specially the Central Government and the State Governments have a  duty to ensure speedy disposal of cases for proper maintenance of rule of law and for sustaining peoples' faith in the judicial system. He further argued that with the present infrastructure it is not possible for Courts, whether it is District Courts or the State High Courts or this Court to effectively dispose of cases by just and fair orders within a reasonable timeframe. The learned Amicus also urged that the problem is huge and the considerations are momentous. To understand the magnitude of the problem, the Government must appoint a permanent commission to make continuous recommendation on measures which are necessary to streamline the existing justice delivery system. In support of his submission, he referred to the Report of Lord Woolf submitted to Lord Chancellor in England:

59. The learned ASG also submitted that having regard to the provision of Article 235 of the Constitution the control over district and subordinate courts rests with the respective High Courts in each State. In assessing the requirement of setting up of additional courts and creating additional benches, the opinion of the High Court and the State Government have to be ascertained including the question of budget allocation to each State Government. The learned ASG also submitted that since the Government is keenly interested to address these problems it is open to any suggestion. It was submitted that any direction from this  Court will help the Government and the Law Commission to tackle this problem in a very effective way.