SC to start new benches for criminal, tax matters

At present, as many as 21,980 appeals are pending

The Supreme Court would start two new benches, each dedicated to deal exclusively with pending criminal appeals, including bail pleas, and tax matters from March 9 .

“As many as 11,137 criminal appeals, including special leave petitions for bail and a total of 10,843 tax-related matters, at present are pending. Two separate benches, each comprising two judges, would start hearing daily those pending matters immediately on re-opening of the court after Holi break,” a senior court official told reporters.

He also said the apex court premises would begin with wi-fi facilities for all by the end of the month. Besides, a clinic would also become functional for lawyers and others inside the complex to provide medical facilities. Interacting with reporters, the official said Chief Justice of India Justice H L Dattu decided to give top priority to pending criminal matters to facilitate the release of those languishing in jails for years altogether without a hearing.

He also pointed out that since huge revenue was blocked in view of pending tax matters, an exclusive bench would start sitting on daily basis to give early disposal of those cases.
The SC had earlier started a social judge bench to take up PILs relating to matters concerning night shelter, children etc.

In a twist to the controversy involving transfer of activist Teesta Setalvad’s bail petition to another bench, the official clarified that the new bench took up the matter after one of the judges in the previous bench recused from the case. He, however, refused to identify the judge.

He called as “false and incorrect” the news report that the special leave petition filed by Teesta and her husband Javed Anand was transferred to another bench without any judge in the previous case withdrawing himself from the bench.

A bench of Justices S J Mukhopadhaya and N V Ramana had on February 13 first taken up the petitions filed by Teesta. The matter was later on February 19 posted before a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Adarsh Kumar Goel, which maintained the protection granted to the couple from arrest in case of alleged financial irregularities of money collected by two NGOs to help 2002 Gujarat riots victims.

“Whatever has been done has been done at the direct recusal of one of the judges of the previous bench. Assigning a case to a bench is in the administrative domain of the Chief Justice of India,” he said.