The Supreme Court has decided to introduce several measures to speed up the hearing and disposal of pending cases.

At a Full Court meeting held on July 15, all 35 judges of the apex court resolved to take part in the ongoing Samadhan Samaroh, which will end with a Special Lok Adalat on August 21, 22 and 23.

The Court also decided to hear at least 100 batch matters that are ready for final hearing. This is expected to help dispose of around 9,177 cases. These matters will be listed before the appropriate Benches for priority hearing.

After these batch matters are decided, the Supreme Court will begin hearing the oldest pending cases (where notice has already been issued) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

To make the listing of cases more organized, the Court will simplify the daily cause list and ensure cases are taken up in a uniform order. A committee of judges will be set up to suggest changes.

The Full Court also decided that lawyers must inform the Court in advance about the time they will need for oral arguments in final hearing matters.

Further, people appearing before the Registrar without a lawyer will have the option to attend through virtual mode under Order IV Rule 1(c) of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013. Those who prefer to appear in person can continue to do so, but they will not be allowed to live-stream or record the proceedings.