In such a situation, justice will become a joke… Why did the Supreme Court give an ultimatum to all the High Courts?

The Supreme Court has described the pending over 8.82 lakh “execution petitions” in various courts across the country as extremely disappointing and worrying. An execution petition refers to one where a judgment has been delivered but has not been implemented. This means that when a civil dispute is resolved in court and the losing party refuses to accept the decision, the winning party files an “execution petition” in the court. This petition serves to implement the court’s decision, ensuring compliance with the order.

Supreme Court issues ultimatum to all High Courts
A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Pankaj Mittal made this observation while reviewing compliance with its March 6 order, which directed all High Courts to direct the civil courts under their jurisdiction to adjudicate on execution petitions within six months. However, this task failed to be completed in time.

Now, the Supreme Court has issued an ultimatum to all High Courts, stating that execution petitions must be disposed of as soon as possible, or, as directed by it, the presiding officers will be held responsible for any delay.

In such a situation, justice will be made a mockery
The bench said that the data it has received is extremely disappointing. The pending execution petitions across the country are alarming. As of today, 882,578 execution petitions are pending across the country. The bench noted that a total of 338,685 execution petitions have been decided and disposed of in the last six months since March 6. In its October 16 order, the bench said, “As stated in our main judgment, if even after the decree is passed, it takes years to be implemented, it is meaningless and would be a travesty of justice.”

Supreme Court seeks response from Karnataka High Court
The Supreme Court said, “Unfortunately, the Karnataka High Court has failed to provide us with the necessary data in this regard.” “The Registry of the Supreme Court is requested to once again remind the Karnataka High Court to provide the data regarding the disposal of execution petitions in the last six months and the pending petitions as of today.”

The Supreme Court said, “The Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court has to explain why he failed to provide us with the necessary information. The Registrar General of the High Court is granted two weeks’ time to explain in this regard.”