Concerned over the time taken by courts in deciding cases, President A P J Abdul Kalam has suggested that a study be conducted to examine judicial delays. Inaugurating a two-day seminar on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances on Saturday, Kalam said "Of course, there is a need to speed up the judicial process with minimum adjournment."

He said, "Probably it may be useful to conduct a case study of hundred cases to examine the number of adjournments and the duration it has taken to settle the case on an average. The study may also throw a light on how to speed up the judicial process."

Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal was present on the occasion. According to official figures, 2.91 crore cases were pending in various High Courts and Subordinate courts as on December 2005, while the figure for the Apex Court stood at 33,636 cases.

Citing official figures, Kalam said law enforcement agencies arrested 19,000 persons in 2003 under NDPS Act, whereas the number of persons prosecuted was 7,800.

Of these, 3,006 were convicted while 2,300 were acquitted. Observing that there was a huge gap between the number of arrests made and the actual conviction, the President said "This should definetely become a matter of concern for the law enforcement authorities and the judiciary."