India, April 11 -- The Union law ministry is planning to roll out 785 evening courts that will operate in existing court premises after regular hours in an effort to address the massive backlog of cases clogging district courts across the country.

These courts would focus on handling minor criminal cases, summary trials, property disputes of lesser value and cheque dishonour cases where the punishment is up to three years of imprisonment, according to a concept note prepared by the ministry and circulated to all states last month.

HT has reviewed the document.

According to the note, the evening courts would function between 5 pm and 9 pm on working days. They will operate with the existing court infrastructure, thereby maximising the u...