According to the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), over 4.7 crore cases in subordinate courts and more than 63 lakh cases in various High Courts remain pending as well.
Reasons for increasing pendency
- Vacancies in High Courts and Subordinate Courts: As per Ministry of Law there are more than 5,600 vacancies in the judiciary.
- Between 2006 and 2024, the number of vacancies in the High Courts has increased from 16% to 30%.
- Low Judge-to-Population Ratio: India has only about 21 judges per million population, compared to 150 in USA.
- Excessive Government Litigation: Government agencies are responsible for around 50% of litigation.
- Inadequate Infrastructure and Manpower: As per India Justice Report, 2022 shortage of courtrooms, administrative staff, etc. impedes speedy case disposal.
- Other: Lack of a prescribed timeframe for disposing of cases, frequent adjournments, vacations, etc.
Implications of pendency
- Justice delayed is justice denied: Prolong the suffering of victims and also disrupts the deterrence effect.
- Socio-Economic Costs: Businesses and individuals bear costs and strains government and judicial resources. E.g. Poor Ease of doing business ranking due to weak enforcement of contracts.
- Prison Overcrowding: As per the Indian Justice Report, 2025, more than half of Indian jails are overcrowded with 76% of prison inmates being under trials.
Way forward to reduce pendency of cases
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