Patan High Court Achieves Zero Backlog for Cases Over Two Years Old

Kathmandu. The Patan High Court has proven successful in the field of judicial work. While making public the performance report for the fiscal year 2082/083, the court announced that it has managed to clear all cases older than two years, bringing the backlog to zero.< /p>

Chief Judge of the Patan High Court, Lal Bahadur Kunwar, stated that the contribution and role of everyone were significant in bringing all cases older than two years down to zero. "We are working with the satisfaction of the service recipients at the center," Kunwar said, "This is an example that if the judiciary works based on public trust and with everyone's support, the goals set by the judiciary can be achieved."< /p>

This court, which accounts for approximately 25 percent of the total workload, has, for the first time in its history, cleared cases older than 18 months to zero. According to the court's statistics, out of a total of 16,139 cases, including 5,609 carried over from the previous year and 10,530 newly registered, 11,468 cases have been disposed of.< /p>

The court had set a target of disposing of 66 percent of cases this year, but achieved a progress of 71.05 percent, which is 5 percent more than the target. This is significantly higher compared to previous years. The number of disposed cases is 938 more than the number of newly registered cases, which the court concludes has greatly contributed to reducing the backlog of cases.< /p>

The court has given special priority to cases involving detainees, reducing the number of detainee cases older than 1 year to 12. Similarly, only 15 applications older than 3 months remain, and the number of writ petitions older than 6 months has been limited to 25. The commercial bench also has no cases older than 18 months and 2 years remaining, according to the report.< /p>

Cases involving detainees have been prioritized for disposal within 1 year. The court stated that 740 such cases were disposed of this fiscal year, with only 12 detainee cases older than 1 year remaining. Applications/reports filed against orders made during the proceedings of subordinate district courts have been prioritized for hearing within 3 months. Out of such applications, 1,941 were disposed of this fiscal year, with only 15 applications/reports older than 3 months remaining. Out of a total of 3,263 writ petitions filed this fiscal year, 2,621 have been disposed of, leaving 642 pending. Among the remaining writ petitions, only 25 are older than 6 months.< /p>

• Status of Subordinate District Courts

Among the 11 district courts under the Patan High Court, Sindhupalchok has shown excellent performance by disposing of 77.4 percent of cases, and Rasuwa by 75.6 percent. The Kathmandu District Court, due to its heavy workload, has managed to dispose of only 42.3 percent of cases. Cases older than 2 years are zero in Rasuwa, Ramechhap, Nuwakot, Dhading, and Sindhuli district courts.< /p>

• Technology and Service Recipient-Friendly Improvements

The court has prioritized the use of various technologies to make judicial work faster and more efficient. The court has stated that virtual hearings, online affidavits, and case information via messages have been implemented. Additionally, digital case file scanning, e-attendance, and online judgment uploads are being carried out. Services such as paid lawyers for free legal aid, an effective citizen assistance desk, and online grievance management are in operation. The court has also stated that it has developed gender-friendly physical infrastructure, including a breastfeeding room and sanitary pads for female service recipients.< /p>