The Delhi High Court Wednesday pulled up the AAP government for not sanctioning funds for the basic requirements of district courts, which are generating huge revenues through collection of fines, traffic challans and court fees, saying that it wanted to kill golden egg-laying goose.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad remarked, “Rs 115 crore collected through virtual traffic fines by district courts. What do you (Delhi government) want? You want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg?”
The high court was informed by Reetesh Singh, Officer of Special Duty (Examination), that in 2018-19, the district courts here collected fines of ₹ 80 crore and sold court fees worth 90 crore, which were deposited with the Delhi government.
In 2019-20, fines of ₹ 89 crore were collected and court fees of ₹ 102 crore were sold and from July 2019 to October 12, 2020, traffic challans of ₹ 115 crore have been collected by the traffic courts.
To this, the bench said, “Despite the aforesaid finances generated by the district courts, they are being starved of funds for the basic requirements of running a court which cannot be countenanced.”
The bench also castigated the Delhi government for making the subordinate judiciary “run from pillar to post” to get funds sanctioned for recruitment of supporting staff which has come to a grinding halt, and asked whether it wanted judicial officers to conduct proceedings from “chaupals”.
