Tamil Nadu tops in case disposal speed

The Madras High Court is in the lead among all the other 21 high courts in terms of speedy disposal of 648 cases on an average each day.This is nearly three-and-half times of the national average which stands as 188 cases disposed of among 21 high courts everyday, according to Law Ministry figures.

Tamil Nadu is followed by Uttar Pradesh where the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow and Kanpur benches put together) dispose of 445 cases everyday -- about two-and-half times the national average.Figures indicate a steady increase in speed of the Madras High Court which, from 468 cases disposed of per day in 2004, rose to 526 in 2005 and then 648 in 2006 (calculated from January till September).

The Delhi High Court, for all its cutting edge infrastructure and access, maintained a rather lower rate of disposal in these three years.Its average disposal rate which once stood at 280 cases a day in 2004, plummeted to 135 cases in 2005 and look up a little with 157 cases disposed of per day during 2006. Still, it remained below the national average of 188 cases per day.