India needs 35,000 lower courts, says CJI

BANGALORE - Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said Saturday that the number of lower courts in the country should be 35,000 as against the present 14,000 so as to cut down delays in disposal of cases.

The legal system could crumble if the backlog of cases continued for long, he said at the inauguration of a meet on ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution - Conciliation and Mediation’ here.

It was organised by International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, an autonomous body functioning under the central law ministry.

There was also urgent need to fill up vacancies in judiciary, Balakrishnan said.

Apprehending that people could “revolt” against continuing delays in justice delivery, Balakrishnan, however, said that people still had faith in judiciary — that they would get justice sooner or later.

But “how long can they wait,” he asked.