A.S. Oka, J.

OVERVIEW

1. Though submissions were fully heard on 26th October 2016, the Petitions were fixed for rehearing on 31st January 2017 and 31st March 2017 to enable the parties to make submissions on the basis of the Judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Imtiyaz Ahmed.

2. This group of Public Interest Litigations/Writ Petitions concerns the issues of infrastructure of Civil and Criminal Courts in the State, Consumer Fora at State level and District level under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short “the said Act of 1986”), the Cooperative Courts and the Cooperative Appellate Courts established under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 (for short “the said Act of 1960”) and the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Mumbai established under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short “M.V. Act”). The judiciary is considered to be a vital pillar of democracy. The common man has a lot of hopes and expectations from the Courts and Tribunals. Therefore, almost all Courts and Tribunals in the State of Maharashtra suffer from over flow of dockets. Almost al