Shimla, July 31 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Kurian Joseph Saturday announced that all the cases of undertrials lodged in various jails of the state would be settled by the year-end.

'All the cases of undertrials languishing in different jails would be disposed off by December,' Chief Justice Joseph said while addressing the judicial officers and lawyers of Mandi town through a video-conferencing facility from Shimla.

Currently more than 50,000 cases are pending in the high court and efforts are afoot to reduce the backlog, he said.

Chief Justice Joseph said legal aid clinics would be set up in all the jails in the state for providing free legal assistance to the undertrials and their families.

'Each lawyer would visit a jail once in a week to provide legal assistance to the undertrials for the speedy disposal of their cases and to mitigate their woes on account of their having to stay in the jails without any trial,' he added.