New criminal court to come up at Yerawada

Supreme Court (SC) justice Abhay Oka on Saturday laid the foundation stone of the proposed Yerawada criminal court building. At the foundation stone laying ceremony, justice Oka said that the SC has devised an action plan to resolve court cases pending for 25 to 30 years in the next two years and urged lawyers to cooperate in ensuring the effective implementation of this plan.

The event was attended by union minister of state Murlidhar Mohol; SC justice Prasanna Varale; and Bombay high court (HC) justices Revati Mohite-Dere, Sandeep Marne, and Arif S Doctor among others.

Stressing the need for both judges and lawyers to work diligently to ensure justice for the common litigant, justice Oka highlighted that Pune is the largest judicial district in the country. Maharashtra has 5.76 million pending cases, 3.87 million out of which are criminal cases. Pune alone accounts for 743,000 pending cases, making up 12 to 13% of the total number of cases with 31% of cases pending for over five years. To address this backlog, justice Oka emphasised the need for decentralisation of courts and improvement of judicial infrastructure.

Justice Varale noted that the Constitution should not be seen merely as a document but as a guiding principle for life. He emphasised the need to adopt and implement constitutional values and urged Maharashtra to preserve its progressive and developmental legacy.

Union minister Mohol pointed out that the growing population of Pune and the increasing number of cases have placed a significant burden on the judicial system and that the new criminal court at Yerawada will help alleviate the congestion at existing courts including the Shivajinagar court premises.

Justice Revati Mohite-Dere highlighted the urgent need for new courts due to increasing litigation. She said that two new buildings are under construction within the Shivajinagar court premises—one with 14 courtrooms and the other dedicated to eight POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) courts. The newly inaugurated Yerawada building will house 28 courtrooms. She said that the state government has been prompt in providing the necessary funds for judicial infrastructure.

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Justice Abhay Oka inaugurates legal services camp & government schemes fair in Saswad

HT Correspondent

puneletters@hindustantimes.com

PUNE: Supreme Court (SC) justice Abhay Oka on Sunday inaugurated a legal services camp and government schemes fair at Waghire College, Saswad. The preamble of the Indian Constitution guarantees economic and social justice to all citizens with economic equality being a key principle, and government schemes must effectively reach the intended beneficiaries to achieve this, justice Oka said at the inauguration ceremony.

The event was jointly organised by the National Legal Services Authority; Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority; District Legal Services Authority, Pune; and Taluka Legal Services Committee, Saswad.