Civil Recovery Litigation – Strategically Navigating a Maze
Abstract
Any organization that has done business in India knows the unique challenges that are faced when it comes to approaching the Judiciary for the legal recovery of dues. The statistics that are now publicly available portray a dismal picture as to the state and capacity of our judiciary, overburdened as it is, to handle the large number of civil disputes that are continuously being filed. As per the most recent statistics, there are currently 7,892,109 civil cases pending in the lower judiciary, out of which 617,280 (i.e. 7.82%) have been pending for more than 10 years. The national average period of time for which a civil case remains pending in the lower judiciary is nearly six years (2184 days) – a figure that becomes far scarier when we take into count that this includes summary proceedings such as applications for the appointment of arbitrators, probate proceedings, etc. Things do not get any better in the High Courts, where the national average for pendency of proceedings stands at three years and one month (1128 days). Standing at 18 judges per million persons, India’s low per capita judge ratio results in a situation where it is not uncommon for 30 – 50 matters to be listed for hearing before a judge each day. In fact as of today, 304187 civil matters are listed for hearing in the courts of 16718 judges of the lower judiciary, and this is apart from criminal cases that the same judges may also be handling.
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