5.64 crore cases pending in Indian courts; SC has 10,000
What's the story
As many as 5.64 crore cases are pending across the Supreme Court, the 25 high courts, and district and subordinate courts, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Rajya Sabha, citing data available on the National Judicial Data Grid. The SC has a backlog of over 96,000 cases, with more than 10,000 cases pending for over a decade. He also revealed that the SC has 26 cases pending for over 30 years and 558 cases pending for over two decades.
High court backlog
High courts also facing a huge backlog of cases
The high courts across India are also facing a huge backlog of cases. As many as 80,660 cases have been pending for more than three decades.
Meghwal said that the disposal of these cases is solely within the judiciary's domain and not under executive control.
He added that several factors contribute to this pendency, including complex facts and evidence involved in cases and cooperation from stakeholders like Bar associations and investigation agencies.
Judicial reforms
Government takes steps to reduce backlog of cases
However, the government is fully committed to speedy disposal of cases and reducing pendency, he said.
Meghwal said arrears Committees have been set up in all high courts and district courts to clear cases pending for over five years.
New laws such as the New Criminal Laws 2023 and amendments to existing laws have also been enacted with an aim to reduce pendency.
Vacancy impact
Vacancies in the judiciary
The delay in the timely disposal of cases is also due to vacancies in the judiciary.
While the Supreme Court has been quick to fill judicial vacancies, high courts and subordinate courts still have a large number of unfilled positions.
The 25 high courts have 341 vacancies against a sanctioned strength of 1,122 judges. Similarly, subordinate courts have 7,311 vacancies against an approved strength of 30,868 judges.