The number of unresolved cases at the SC has reached 21,755 by the end of fiscal year 2014/15, while it was only 10,422 five years ago in fiscal year 2010/11. In the fiscal year 2013/14, there were a total of 18,776 cases pending at the SC.The SC settled 6,462 cases in fiscal year 2014/15. This shows that the SC settled 408 more cases compared to the previous fiscal year. However, the case settlement percentage at the apex court dropped in the fiscal year 2014/15. The settlement percentage was 24.06 in 2013/14 but the percentage slipped to 22.90 in 2014/15.
In the last five years, fiscal year 2012/13 saw the least number of cases settled as only 4,360 (20.95 percent) cases were settled in the period. Case settlement has remained below 25 percent in the last three years.
Newly appointed Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha is aware of the alarming situation. "District courts and appellate courts have made huge progress in case settlement in line with the strategic plan and vision-80. However, there is a problem in the Supreme Court," said Shrestha last week at an interaction with editors and reporters.
Shrestha and his predecessors have attributed the increase in backlogs to inadequate number of justices at the Supreme Court.
During the fiscal year 2012/13, there were only five justices at the SC for some time. Though eight justices were appointed last year, four positions of permanent justices are still lying vacant. Although there is a constitutional provision, which allows appointment of ad hoc justices at the SC depending on the workload, there is no ad-hoc justice at the apex court at present.
"My top priority will be to appoint justices. The number of unsettled cases has increased alarmingly," Shrestha had said while assuming office.
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