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India Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
How Karnataka plans to speed up disposal of piling civil cases
There are more than a million civil cases pending in various subordinate courts in Karnataka, many of them years old and some even dating back decades. To ensure speedy delivery of justice, the state government has amended the Code of Civil Procedure by stipulating that arguments in a civil case be closed within 24 months from the date of the first case management Code of Civil Procedure (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2024, which was passed by the state legislature in December 2024, received the president of India's assent on May amendments are the first such among other states in the country, said Karnataka law minister H.K. Patil at a media conference on May 26, adding that these will apply to all civil cases in the subordinate courts, not including special courts.A key change pertains to the insertion of a new section (89A) under which every suit 'that does not contemplate any urgent interim relief' shall be referred to mediation. The mediation process will be allowed for a period of two months from the date of reference and may be extended by a further one-month with the consent of the parties. 'In the event a compromise is not arrived at within two months, the court will take the case up for hearing,' said other key amendment is the case management hearing under which timelines will be set for various stages of the trial. 'The court shall hold the first case management hearing not later than four weeks from the date of completion of pleadings in the suit. Pleadings are completed when the defendant files Written Statement and the suit is set for framing of issues,' according to the amended provisions were incorporated to 'strengthen the hands of the courts to decide the case in time', said case management hearing is a mechanism that currently exists in commercial courts, points out Shruthi Naik, who leads the justice, access and lowering delays in India (JALDI) team at the New Delhi-based non-profit Vidhi Centre for Legal cases that are listed go through the entire case proceedings as and when the court sets hearing dates. In the case management hearing, the court—after hearing the parties—fixes the dates on which it will take up different stages, such as recording of evidence of witnesses and oral arguments and sets the time limit for the completion of a trial.'It would be interesting to see how this works out for civil cases, again largely because of the workload,' says on May 28, Karnataka had a total 1.01 million pending civil cases, according to the National Judicial Data Grid dashboard. Of these, nearly a third were pending for 1-3 years, around 15 per cent were between five to 10 years and 3 per cent were over 10 years old. Of the pending civil cases, 285,974 were at the stage of witness says technological aids that can capture more details than the existing court information system will be useful for the courts in tracking the progress of cases. For instance, though the Code of Civil Procedure restricts the number of adjournments allowed in a trial, it is difficult to enforce this without granular data on party-wise technological aids and training will be necessary to strengthen the infrastructure for mediation, given that the number of pre-litigation mediation cases will now increase with the amendments coming into force. There are around 1,700 mediators in Karnataka.'It is a welcome step in order to relieve the burden of the judiciary, but we also need to make mediation effective for the bill to have the intended effect it was passed for,' says Naik. With the amendments, there is an opportunity to create new standard operating procedures that, depending on their success, other states could possibly to India Today Magazine
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to be open for guided tours from June 1
A first-of-its-kind experience, the Guided Walking Tour of Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on Sunday. The tour of Bengaluru's iconic landmark will be open to the public from June 1. Speaking at the inauguration, Minister of Tourism, Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil said that these tours should not be thought of as recreational. 'Vidhana Soudha is not just any other building but one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is also the temple of democracy. Whoever finishes this tour should be able to identify their role in democracy. We want visitors to dream and aspire to become a Chief Minister or a Speaker or an Opposition party leader and represent people. We want to bring out a sense of pride about Karnataka.' 90-minute tour The tours developed by Department of Tourism and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) in association with the Speaker's Office – Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and Vidhana Soudha Security Division will take place every Sunday and second and fourth Saturdays of the month in designated time slots between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Each tour group will consist of 30 people and will take approximately 90 minutes and will be supervised by a Tour Guide, Tourist Mitra and Vidhana Soudha security personnel. 'We aim to accommodate 300 people in a day in these tours. We also plan to have separate slots for tours in English,' said Rajendra K.V., Director of Tourism Department and MD of KSTDC. Entry fee Entry for the tour will be given at Gate 3 of Vidhana Soudha and will then cover seven points of interest spanning approximately 1.5 kilometres. The entry fee for the tour is fixed at ₹50 per person. However, for children under the age of 16, the tickets are free, but registration is mandatory. 'We see this as a transformation programme to showcase the beauty and legacy of democracy. Only those who understand history can create history. We want every student to understand democracy and create that kind of history. That is why we have decided to make the tour free for students,' said U.T. Khader, Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Online booking Those interested in booking tickets for the tour can do so on KSTDC's website While currently there is an option to send an email to KSTDC and then get a controlled link for booking, soon there will be a designated ticket booking portal on the website. Limited tickets may also be available at the KSTDC helpdesk on site. The visitors will also need to carry a physical copy of their original Aadhar card (digital copies will not be accepted) while students will need to carry a valid school ID along with original Aadhar. Foreign nationals should produce their original passports for verification at the entry point.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Now, a guided tour of Bengaluru's Vidhana Soudha for public six days a month
A first-of-its-kind experience, the Guided Walking Tour of Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on Sunday (May 25, 2025). The tour of Bengaluru's iconic landmark will be open to the public from June 1. Speaking at the inauguration, Minister of Tourism, Law and Parliamentary Affairs H. K. Patil said that these tours should not be thought of as recreational. 'Vidhana Soudha is not just any other building but one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is also the temple of democracy. Whoever finishes this tour should be able to identify their role in democracy. We want visitors to dream and aspire to become a Chief Minister or a Speaker or an Opposition party leader and represent people. We want to bring out a sense of pride about Karnataka.' A 90-minute tour The tours developed by Department of Tourism and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) in association with the Speaker's Office – Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and Vidhana Soudha Security Division will take place every Sunday and second and fourth Saturdays of the month in designated time slots between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Each tour group will consist of 30 people and will take approximately 90 minutes and will be supervised by a Tour Guide, Tourist Mitra and Vidhana Soudha security personnel. 'We aim to accommodate 300 people in a day in these tours. We also plan to have separate slots for tours in English,' said Rajendra K.V., Director of Tourism Department and MD of KSTDC. Entry fee of ₹50/person Entry for the tour will be given at Gate 3 of Vidhana Soudha and will then cover seven points of interest spanning approximately 1.5 kilometres. The entry fee for the tour is fixed at ₹50 per person. However, for children under the age of 16, the tickets are free, but registration is mandatory. 'We see this as a transformation programme to showcase the beauty and legacy of democracy. Only those who understand history can create history. We want every student to understand democracy and create that kind of history. That is why we have decided to make the tour free for students,' said U. T. Khader, Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Online booking of slots Those interested in booking tickets for the tour can do so on KSTDC's website While currently there is an option to send an email to KSTDC and then get a controlled link for booking, soon there will be a designated ticket booking portal on the website. Limited tickets may also be available at the KSTDC helpdesk on site. The visitors will also need to carry a physical copy of their original Aadhar card (digital copies will not be accepted) while students will need to carry a valid school ID along with original Aadhar. Foreign nationals should produce their original passports for verification at the entry point.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Cabinet discussion on caste census again remains inconclusive
A discussion by the Karnataka Cabinet on the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey or caste census yet again remained inconclusive and it would come up for talks in the next Cabinet. Briefing about the Cabinet meeting decisions on Thursday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil said three to four Ministers have not given their opinions on the survey in writing and therefore the discussion remained inconclusive. Reports of the survey were given to Ministers at the April 17 Cabinet meeting. The meeting on May 9 again postponed discussion on the caste census report. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has asked the Ministers to give their opinions in writing.
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Govt. to notify GBG Act on May 15, paving the way for restructuring BBMP
The stage is set for the restructuring of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), with the State government scheduled to issue a notification enforcing the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act (GBGA), 2024, on May 15. With the implementation of this Act, the BBMP — currently governed under the BBMP Act, 2021 — will cease to exist in its present legal form. However, a civic body under the same nomenclature will continue to govern the city. A new administrator will be appointed to oversee the further splitting of the BBMP, likely into three or five corporations. 'The GBG Act will be notified on May 15. The notification will contain details as to how the Act will be implemented further,' Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil told presspersons. When asked how many corporations would be notified, he refused to specify a number. The Act provides for creation of up to seven corporations. A senior official from the Urban Development Department (UDD) confirmed that the new BBMP will function under the provisions of the new Act, and the current commissioner will remain at the helm of the civic body. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot gave his assent to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024, in April. In March, the Governor had returned the Bill, passed by the legislature during the Budget session, seeking clarification. The government sent back the Bill providing clarifications following which it was cleared. An official said the Greater Bengaluru Authority under the new Act will not exceed the current BBMP area which is 709 sq. km. After the notification, the government will begin the process to split the BBMP. The official said the State is planning to establish between three and five corporations. Meanwhile, Bengaluru Town Hall, a civic society collective, has decided to challenge the Act in the Supreme Court. The citizen activists argue that the Act violates the 74th amendment of the Constitution.
