COMMON CAUSE has been in the forefront of the movement for improving the system of dispensation of justice so that the common man may realize his legitimate aspiration of substantial, economical and speedy justice. Mr. H. D. Shourie, Founder Director of COMMON CAUSE, continued his exertions to this end till his last breath. In his letter to Mr. Justice S. M. Raza, Lokayukta, Uttaranchal, dated June 22, 2005, he wrote,

"We believe …… that there is need of bringing about the judicial reforms which would deal with huge pendency of cases in the courts of the country. The figures presently being mentioned are that there are 2.27 crore cases in the District and Subordinate Courts; 35 lakhs in High Courts and 25000 in the Supreme Curt. There are about 2 crores cases pending in the courts of India. If there are 4/5 members of the family on one side and 4/5 members on the other side, almost about 12 to 15 crores persons are involved in pending cases. This is obviously a matter which needs a very serious consideration for determining as to what judicial reforms can be made effective for meeting the requirements of reducing pendency of cases in the court of India."

Mr. Shourie had earlier drafted a writ petition on the functioning of the judiciary, highlighting the enormous accumulation of court cases. Unfortunately, this petition could not see the light of day.

At the last count the backlog of cases in the courts of India had gone up to nearly 3 crore cases, including more than 37 lakh cases pending in the High Courts and over 46,000 cases awaiting disposal by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Shourie's endeavours were a source of inspiration to many. Inspired by his example, Mr. Bhagvanji Raiyani of Mumbai had established `Janhit Manch' in 2001. Janhit Manch undertook to address the problem of judicial delays and to campaign for strengthening the judiciary. The Campaign for Judicial Accountability & Reforms launched by M/s. Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan brought Janhit Manch & COMMON CAUSE together and the two organisations decided to join hands with other like minded bodies and individuals and file a comprehensive writ petition in the Supreme Court, offering a multi-pronged strategy to expedite the dispensation of justice and reverse the trend of mounting backlog of court cases. The draft petition underwent several iterations and was finally filed in the Supreme Court in March 2008. On April 15, 2008, a two-judge bench of the Court comprising the Chief Justice of India and Mr. Justice R. V. Raveendran heard the counsel of the petitioners and ordered that notice be issued to the respondent Union of India. The petition is reproduced below:

Writ Petition (Civil) No. 122 of 2008 (For preliminary hearing)