Court Delays

The Indian judicial system is grappling with a significant issue – high court case pendency. According to recent data, there are a staggering 6,243,213 cases pending in High Courts across the country.

One of the primary reasons for this high pendency is the shortage of judges. With the increasing number of cases, the current judiciary is struggling to keep up, leading to delays and backlogs. Inadequate infrastructure also contributes to the problem, as courts often lack the necessary facilities to effectively process cases in a timely manner.

The Supreme Court is not immune to this issue either. Currently, there are 81,274 cases pending in the highest court of the land.

Over the past decade, the rate of case pendency across all courts has been on the rise. From 2010 to 2020, the annual increase was approximately 2.8%.

Several factors have been identified as contributing to this trend. One of these is the proliferation of Public Interest Litigations (PILs), which have increased in number in recent years. Additionally, increased legal awareness among the public has led to more cases being brought to court.

Complex legal procedures and the growing number of cases have also made it difficult for the judiciary to keep up. About half of the cases in High Courts have been pending for more than 5 years, highlighting the need for reform.

The high number of cases pending in courts has a significant impact on the efficiency and speed of the judicial system. It not only delays justice for those involved in the cases, but also clogs up the system, making it more difficult for other cases to be heard and resolved in a timely manner.

The Law Commission of India, an organisation that makes proposals for legal reform, made recommendations in 1987 to increase the judge-to-population ratio in India. These recommendations have yet to be fully implemented, and may provide a solution to the issue of high court case pendency.

Addressing this issue will require a multi-faceted approach, including increasing the number of judges, improving infrastructure, simplifying legal procedures, and implementing measures to reduce the number of cases being brought to court. Only by addressing these challenges can the Indian judicial system hope to deliver justice more efficiently and effectively.