All criminal cases pending before various lower courts across the country will go fast-track within the next three months, Union Law Minister Verappa Moily declared in Lucknow on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference, Moily said, "Things are already in the process and the Union government has given away a sum of Rs 20,000 crores to different states to ensure timely completion of work to have all the systems in place to give the courts a new shape with modern equipment and systems."
He said, "Our target is to ensure that no criminal case remains pending before any court for a period of more than three years and corruption related cases are disposed of within six months."
Asked if the government had plans of bringing in any legislation for the forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth of public servants, he said, "Well, we are already in the process of preparing a bill to empower the government to seize not only unlawfully earned money but also forfeit benaami property."
Claiming that the United Progressive Alliance government was determined to root out corruption, he said, "Our aim is to completely eradicate corruption."
He said, "After having successfully implemented the Right to Information and Right to Education in the country, we are now committed to providing the Right to Justice to the people of the country."
According to him, "This includes setting up of village level courts, legislation of gender neutral laws to remove anti-women prejudices inherent in certain laws and promotion of uniform legal education."
Asked to comment on the rising incidence of corruption in the higher judiciary, the minister said, "A new judicial standards and accountability bill that has been duly introduced in Parliament would surely go a long way in curbing corruption in high courts."
Moily declined to comment on the controversy surrounding Chief Vigilance Commissioner P V Thomas, saying the matter was 'sub-judice'.
