Nearly 7,000 cases were registered last year according to the Annual Judiciary Report of 2020. The total case pending for 2020 stood at 2,873 cases of which 342 cases are pending for more than a year. It is an increase of over a hundred cases compared to the previous year. The complexities of cases, inability to trace witnesses and absconding respondents are some of the reasons for the cases pending for more than a year.
Simultaneously the pandemic also affected the legal procedures in the country.
“The normal functions of the judiciary is actually hampered but then the judiciary is not an exception when the whole nation is under lockdown. The actual impact was, we could not do the normal hearing. The litigants have suffered because they couldn’t file their case on time. Get their cases or grievances redressed in time and also concerned institution like the Office of the Attorney General, the Royal Bhutan Police couldn’t file their criminal cases before the court in time,” said Gembo Dorji, Registrar General of the Supreme Court.
He also added that especially during the lockdown, cases related to violence kept coming up but the court couldn’t provide judiciary services to the public due to the closure of courts.
According to the report, more than 3,600 civil cases were registered last year. Of which, monetary cases top the list with over 1,600 cases. However, it is a decrease of more than fifty per cent in monetary cases compared to 2019. On the other hand, more than a thousand criminal cases were registered last year, an increase of 3 per cent compared to 2019. Battery and Assault top the list with 307 cases.
Thimphu and Phuentshogling courts had the highest number of registered cases among the Dzongkhag and Dungkhag Courts. The Supreme Court will prioritise the breaching of COVID-19 protocols and violence during the lockdown. Meanwhile, the cases that were left unattended due to lockdown will be given priority.
Kelzang Choden
