All Indian courts continue to have a bulk of cases pending for years, with the country's High Courts alone having more than 44 lakhs cases on hold at the moment, according to estimates.
Meanwhile, in district and subordinate courts, the number of pending cases were over 260 lakhs as of 31 December 2013. Appointment of judges and establishment of new courts will not help sweep off all these cases, Economic Times reported.
Among the innumerous cases waiting to be heard in the courts, here are a few major ones which deal with murders and scams.
Ayodhya Case: The first suit on the disputed land - of Babri Masjid, demolished in 1992 - was filed 64 years by Gopal Singh Visharad, followed by Ramchadras Paramhans, Birmohi Akhara and Sunni Wakf Board in Allahabad High Court.
The court began hearings on the case in 2002 and declared its verdict on 30 September 2010, stating that the land be divided into three parts. Unsatisfied with the verdict, parties supporting Hindus, Muslims and the trust Akhara approached Supreme Court, which had stayed the HC verdict in May 2011.
Ishrat Jahan encounter case: On 15 June 2004, Ishrat Jahan Raza and three other men - Pranesh Pillai, Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar - were allegedly killed in a fake encounter led by a team headed out by DIG DG Vanjara in Gujarat. The police had alleged that Ishrat and others were members of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Gujarat High Court in 2010 appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which submitted a report to HC in 2011, stating that the encounter was conspired. Confirming SIT's allegation in 2013, CBI filed chargesheet against the state police and Intelligence Bureau, although it sought time to investigate further.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case: Gujarat police allegedly carried out a fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife and Kauser Bi and his associate and sole witness of Sheikh's murder Tulsiram Prajapati, on 26 November 2005 on the instructions of BJP President Amit Shah.
The Gujarat police alleged that Sheikh had connections with LeT and was planning the then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi's assassination. CBI filed chargesheet against Shah and others in 2010, accusing them of orchestrating the fake encounter. The case is still pending in a special CBI court.
Scarlett Keeling case: 15-year-old Scarlett Keeling from Britain was found murdered at the Anjuna Goa beach on 18 February 2008. The two accused, who raped and killed her, has been facing trial since 2010.
2010 Commonwealth Games scam cases: The scam involved an amount of ₹70, 000 crore, and involved a series of cases. CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi was chargesheeted for allegedly giving the Timing-Scoring-Result system installation contract to a Swiss firm at a huge cost.
In another case, former Delhi CM Sheila Dixit was accused of favouring ineligible companies to win the tender to install streetlight during for the CWG preparations.
Coal allocation scam case: In 2012, CAG alleged that there were irregularities in coal allocation to 41 companies by the UPA-led government. The case is still pending with the court, and Supreme Court has been asked to put up a criterion to de-allocate the coal blocks.
2013 Indian Premier League spot fixing and betting case: A committee headed by Mukul Mudgal and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly has been given the charge of the case. However, cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan are under the purview of investigating committee.
2013 AgustaWestland chopper scam case: Loopholes, in the 2010 deal signed with Italian helicopter manufacturing company AgustaWestland - to deliver 12 VVIP choppers worth ₹3,600 crore to India, was exposed in 2013. The scam involved several dignitaries and politicians of India including BV Wanchoo and MK Narayanan, who are being investigated by the CBI.
