Lok Sabha Question No. 521 (STARRED), answered on 2018-04-04
Subject: Slow/Under-Staffed Justice System
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: J. JAYASINGH THIYAGARAJ NATTERJEE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *521.

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 04 TH  APRIL, 2018.

Slow / Under-Staffed Justice System

*521. SHRI J. J. T. NATTERJEE:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  India's  justice  system  is  erratic,  slow  and  under-staffed  implying  thereby  that cases have taken so long to be heard and justice has long been denied to many people;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether currently the time taken to register a case and going to lower courts and deciding cases  in  the  High  Court  or  Supreme  Court  takes  several  years  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (d) the details of the proposals before the Government to tackle the crisis; and
- (e) the number of cases pending before lower Courts, High Courts and the Supreme Court?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  of  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO. *521 FOR ANSWER ON 04 TH  APRIL, 2018.

(a) and (b) : Disposal of cases pending in courts is within the domain of judiciary.  The actual time taken  for  disposal  of  a  case  depends  on  several  factors such  as category  of  the  case  (civil  or criminal), complexity of the facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake-holders viz . bar, investigation  agencies,  witnesses  and  litigants  besides  the  availability  of  physical  infrastructure, supporting court staff and applicable rules of procedure.  A number of expert committees including Law Commission of India have gone into reasons for delayed disposal and, consequent, pendency of cases.  Based on the recommendations made, Government has carried out amendments to Code of Civil  Procedure  (C.  P.  C.)  and  Criminal  Procedure  Code  (Cr.  P.  C.)  for  expediting  the  disposal  of cases and, consequent, reduction in pendency in courts.

Filling  up  of  vacancies  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  High  Courts  is  a  continuous  and collaborative process, between the Executive and the Judiciary.  It requires consultation and approval from  various  Constitutional  Authorities.    Initiation  of  proposal  for  appointment  of  Judges  in  the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies in High Courts do keep on arising on account  of  retirement,  resignation  or  elevation  of  Judges  and  also  the  increase  in  the  strength  of Judges.

As per the Constitutional framework, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate courts  is  the  responsibility  of  the  High  Courts  and  State  Governments  concerned.    In  so  far  as recruitment  of  judicial  officers  in  the  States  is  concerned,  respective  High  Courts  do  it  in  certain States, whereas the High Courts do it in consultation with the State Public Service Commissions in other States.

The details of  number of Judges appointed in the last three years in Supreme Court and High  Courts  are  given  in  the  Statement  at Annexure  -  I and  the  details  of  sanctioned  /  working strength and vacancy position of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts during last three years are given in the Statement at Annexure - II.

(c): In  the  Supreme  Court  of  India  and  all  High  Courts  fresh  cases  are  filed  only  before  the computerized  Filing  Counters.    The  Data  Entry  Operator  enters  preliminary  details  required  for registration such as party names, advocate details, etc.  Operator at the query counter attends to the queries  of  the  litigants  on  the  spot.  The  defects,  if  any,  are  listed  out  and  handed  over  to  the litigants/advocates for rectification. Time limitation is also checked by the system automatically.  The amount collected towards court fee is automatically calculated thus saving the court official's time. Hence, the filing process is orderly and saves time and efforts of advocates and court officials.

(d): The Central Government is fully committed to assisting the judiciary to enable speedy disposal of cases.  It has undertaken many steps towards achieving this objective.  A series of measures has been  undertaken  to  enable  the  expeditious  disposal  of  civil  cases.    These  include  relevant amendments to the Civil Procedure Code to impose limit on the number of adjournments that may be granted to  each  party  to  three  times  and  imposition  of  costs  for  adjournments;  allowing  service  of summons using email, fax, speed post, courier services or directly through the plaintiff; providing for dismissal of suit where summons are not served in consequence of plaintiff's failure to pay costs; and limiting the time limit for filing of written statement by the defendant.

The Central and State Governments have adopted a co-ordinated approach to assist judiciary for  phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial systems, which, inter-alia ,  involves better infrastructure  for  courts  including  computerisation,  increase  in  strength  of  judicial  officers  /  judges, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation and emphasis on training and human resource development.

In addition, following steps have also been taken by the Government leading to faster disposal of cases and reduction in pendency.

- (i) The  sanctioned  strength  of  Judges  of  High  Courts  has  been  increased  from  906  judges  in June 2014 to 1079 judges as on date.
- (ii) The sanctioned strength of the subordinate judiciary has been increased from 20,174 at the end of 2014 to 22,474 in December, 2017.
- (iii) The  filling  of  vacancies  of  Judges  /  Judicial  officers  in  Districts  and  Subordinate  Courts  is within the domain of the State Governments and the High Courts concerned.  However, the Union Government takes up the matter with the High Courts and the State Governments from time to time to fill up the vacancies of Judges / Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts.
- (iv) The  Union  Government  has  been  administering  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in association with State /  UT Governments  in  order  to  augment  the  resources  of  State  Governments  in  this  regard  in association with the States / UT Governments.  As on date, Rs. 6,100 crore has been released since the inception of the Scheme in 1993-94.  Out of this, Rs. 2,655 crore (43.52% of the total amount released till date) has been released to the States and UTs since April, 2014.  18,108 court  halls  and  14,963  residential  accommodations  have  been  made  available  for  Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts under this scheme as on date.  In addition, 3,161 court halls and 1,787 residential units are under construction.  The Central Government has approved  continuation  of  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  for  Development  of Infrastructure Facilities  for  Judiciary  beyond  the  12 th Five  Year  Plan  period i.e. from 01.04.2017 to 31.03.2020 with an estimated additional outlay of Rs.3,320 crore.
- (v) In May 2015, a communication was sent to the Chief Justices of High Courts requesting them to apprise the action being taken to make the recruitment process more broad based to fill up the existing vacancies of judicial officers / judges at all levels in the District and Subordinate Courts to enable the Government to take a view on the need for formation of All India Judicial Service.  Most of the High Courts have indicated that the recruitment process which is in their domain for vacancies in subordinate judiciary at all levels has been expedited in terms of the resolution passed in the Conference of Chief Justices held in New Delhi in April 2015.  The

selections  for  the  various  posts  in  subordinate  judiciary  are  being  conducted  by  State Governments / High Courts in consonance with the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Malik Mazhar Sultan case Vs UP Public Service Commission.

- (vi) The State Governments have notified the State Litigation Policies so as to reduce Government Litigations.
- (vii) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism, which is a key strategy for reducing delays and pendency in courts, is being used.
- (viii) National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) provides access to justice for the marginalised and poor people, under the overall supervision of the Chief Justice of India as its Patron-in Chief. A total number of 140.64 lakh pending cases have been settled by National Lok Adalats during the last three calendar years i.e. 2015, 2016 and 2017.  In addition, Regular Lok Adalats have settled 83.60 lakh pending cases during the last three years i.e. 2015-16, 2016-17 and 201718 (upto December, 2017).
- (ix) 1824 obsolete laws have been repealed.
- (x) The Government has launched a nation-wide drive to reduce the number of cases pending in courts  by  curtailing  the  government  litigation.    The  Department  of  Justice  has  written  to  all Ministers  of  Central  Ministries  and  State  Governments  launching  'special  arrears  clearance drives' to reduce pending cases and minimize fresh litigations.
- (xi) Based on the proposals received from the High Court Collegium, during the year 2016, 126 fresh appointment of Judges in High Courts and 131 Additional Judges were made permanent, which is the highest number of appointments made in a given year.  In addition, the tenure of 22 Additional Judges of High Courts was also extended.  During the year (2017), 115 Judges have  been  appointed  in  the  High  Courts  and  31  Additional  Judges  have  been  made Permanent. Besides, 08 Chief Justices have been appointed in the High Courts.  During the current year (2018), 04 Chief Justices, and 11 Judges have been appointed in High Courts, and 66 Additional Judges have been made permanent.
- (xii) The 14 th Finance Commission has endorsed the proposal to strengthen the judicial system in States which includes, inter-alia , establishing 1800 FTCs for a period of five years for cases of heinous  crimes;  cases  involving  senior  citizens,  women,  children,  disabled  and  litigants affected  with  HIV  AIDS  and  other  terminal  ailments;  and  civil  disputes  involving  land acquisition and property / rent disputes pending for more than five years at a cost of Rs. 4144 crore.  The 14 th Finance Commission has urged State Governments to use the additional fiscal space  provided  by  the  Commission  in  the  tax  devolution  to  meet  such  requirements.  The Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  had  written  to  all  Chief  Ministers  on  23 rd April,  2015  followed  by reminders from the Hon'ble Minister of Law  &  Justice to make  available the fund recommended by the 14 th Finance  Commission  to  judiciary  from  the  additional  fiscal  space available under the 14 th Finance Commission.
- (xiii) As per the resolution adopted in the Joint Conference held in New Delhi on 24 th April, 2016, The Government vide its letter dated 26 th September, 2016 requested the State Governments to strengthen the institutional mechanism between the State and the Judiciary where the Chief

Secretary and his team and 2 or 3 Judges of the High Court to regularly meet and monitor utilisation  of  plan  funds  and  timely  completion  of  judicial  infrastructure  and  eCourts  Mission Mode project in the jurisdiction of the High Court.  The States have also been requested to assist Judiciary in preparing perspective / annual plan for various activities to be undertaken in the  justice  sector  on  account  of  enhanced  devolution  of  funds  to  the  States  under  the  14 th Finance Commission.  In addition, the States were requested to provide technical manpower for ICT upgradation.

- (xiv) The Ministry of Law & Justice vide letter dated 3 Feb 2017, addressed the Chief Justices of the  24  High  Courts,  raising  concerns  regarding  the  increased  number  of  undertrials  in  jails across  the  country.  The  Government,  in  underscoring  the  importance  of  fair  trial  for  every accused,  requested  the  High  Court  to  advise  the  district  judiciary  to  ensure  effective implementation of Section 436A Code of Criminal Procedure and ensure periodic monitoring of the associated Undertrial Review Committee mechanism.  So far, two High Courts - Punjab and Haryana High Court and Madhya Pradesh High Court - have responded to this letter who have assured action on this front.
- (xv) As per the direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in its Order dated 02.01.2017 in the matter of Imtiyaz Ahmed Case, the Department of Justice has forwarded a copy of interim report of the  NCMS  (National  Court  Management  System)  Committee  to  all  State  Governments  and High Courts to enable them to take follow up action to determine the required Judges Strength of district judiciary based on the NCMS report.
- (xvi) Commercial Courts,  Commercial  Division  and  Commercial  Appellate  Division  of  High  Court Act,  2015  has  been  notified  on  1 st January,  2016  to  have  a  streamlined  procedure  for  the conduct of cases in the Commercial Division and in the Commercial Court by amending the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) for commercial cases so as to improve the efficiency and reduce delays in disposal of commercial cases.
- (xvii) Necessary amendments have been made to Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to make the award  within  12  months,  to  resolve  the  dispute  through  fast  track  procedure,    to  ensure Neutrality  of  arbitrators,  and  to  restrict  the  term  'Public  Policy  of  India'  (as  a  ground  for challenging the award)
- (xviii) The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2015 has been notified to clarify the jurisdiction where  dishonour  of  cheque  cases  may  be  filed  and  provide  for  transfer  of  cases  to  the appropriate jurisdiction and consolidation of multiple cases filed in different courts.

(e) Data  on  pendency  of  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  High  Courts  is  maintained  by  the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively.  As  per  information  made  available  by  the  Supreme Court of India, the total number of pending cases in the Supreme Court is 55,892.   As per information on the web-portal of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), the details of cases pending before various High Courts are given in the Statement at Annexure - III .  The details of cases pending before the District and Subordinate, courts State-wise / UT-wise (excluding State / UTs of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Puducherry) are given in the Statement at Annexure - IV .

## Statement referred to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *521 dated 04

## th April, 2018.

## Number of Judges appointed in Supreme Court and High Courts during last three years

| Court (Supreme Court / High Courts) and type of appointment of Judges   | Year of appointment   | Year of appointment   | Year of appointment   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|                                                                         | 2016                  | 2017                  | 2018                  |
| Judges appointed in the Supreme Court                                   | 04                    | 05                    | --                    |
| Appointment of Chief Justices                                           | 14                    | 08                    | 04                    |
| Transfer of Chief Justices                                              | 04                    | --                    | 01                    |
| Judges appointed in the High Courts                                     | *126                  | 115                   | 11                    |
| Additional Judges made Permanent in High Courts                         | *131                  | 31                    | 66                    |
| Additional Judges given fresh term                                      | 22                    | 05                    | 01                    |
| Transfer of Judges                                                      | 33                    | 05                    | 01                    |
| New posts of Judges created in High Courts                              | 173                   | --                    | --                    |

Note: 78 new posts of Judges were created in the year 2014, 60 posts were created in 2015 and 35 posts were created in 2016.

********************

## th

## Statement referred to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *521 dated 04 April, 2018 Sanctioned Strength / Working Strength and Vacancies of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts during the last three years

| Sl. No   | Name of States/UTs        | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2015   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2015   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2015   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2016   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2016   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2016   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2017   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2017   | Position of Judicial Officers as on 31.12.2017   |
|----------|---------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
|          |                           | Sanctione d Strength Working                     | Strengt h                                        | Vacancie                                         | Sanctione d Strength                             | Working Strengt h                                | Vacancie s                                       | Sanctione d Strength                             | Strengt h                                        | Working Vacancies                                |
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh &Telangana | 1034                                             | 785                                              | 249                                              | 1025                                             | 929                                              | 96                                               | 986                                              | 920                                              | 66                                               |
| 2.       | Arunachal Pradesh         | 17                                               | 15                                               | 2                                                | 26                                               | 17                                               | 9                                                | 28                                               | 17                                               | 11                                               |
| 3.       | Assam                     | 424                                              | 319                                              | 105                                              | 424                                              | 311                                              | 113                                              | 429                                              | 352                                              | 77                                               |
| 4.       | Bihar                     | 1727                                             | 1067                                             | 660                                              | 1825                                             | 1002                                             | 823                                              | 1828                                             | 993                                              | 835                                              |
| 5.       | Chhattisgarh              | 385                                              | 341                                              | 44                                               | 395                                              | 356                                              | 39                                               | 398                                              | 335                                              | 63                                               |
| 6.       | Goa                       | 57                                               | 49                                               | 8                                                | 57                                               | 50                                               | 7                                                | 55                                               | 43                                               | 12                                               |
| 7.       | Gujarat                   | 1939                                             | 1170                                             | 769                                              | 1502                                             | 1111                                             | 391                                              | 1496                                             | 1121                                             | 375                                              |
| 8.       | Haryana                   | 644                                              | 474                                              | 170                                              | 644                                              | 501                                              | 143                                              | 645                                              | 496                                              | 149                                              |
| 9.       | Himachal Pradesh          | 152                                              | 134                                              | 18                                               | 155                                              | 147                                              | 8                                                | 159                                              | 148                                              | 11                                               |
| 10.      | Jammu & Kashmir           | 245                                              | 220                                              | 25                                               | 246                                              | 219                                              | 27                                               | 253                                              | 224                                              | 29                                               |
| 11.      | Jharkhand                 | 592                                              | 466                                              | 126                                              | 673                                              | 448                                              | 225                                              | 672                                              | 419                                              | 253                                              |
| 12.      | Karnataka                 | 1122                                             | 820                                              | 302                                              | 1300                                             | 913                                              | 387                                              | 1303                                             | 976                                              | 327                                              |
| 13.      | Kerala                    | 457                                              | 442                                              | 15                                               | 491                                              | 427                                              | 64                                               | 535                                              | 450                                              | 85                                               |
| 14.      | Madhya Pradesh            | 1350                                             | 1132                                             | 218                                              | 2021                                             | 1240                                             | 781                                              | 2021                                             | 1293                                             | 728                                              |
| 15.      | Maharashtra               | 2251                                             | 1917                                             | 334                                              | 2094                                             | 1969                                             | 125                                              | 2097                                             | 1930                                             | 167                                              |
| 16.      | Manipur                   | 41                                               | 35                                               | 6                                                | 34                                               | 25                                               | 9                                                | 49                                               | 40                                               | 09                                               |
| 17.      | Meghalaya                 | 57                                               | 29                                               | 28                                               | 57                                               | 41                                               | 16                                               | 97                                               | 39                                               | 58                                               |
| 18.      | Mizoram                   | 63                                               | 30                                               | 33                                               | 63                                               | 30                                               | 33                                               | 63                                               | 46                                               | 17                                               |
| 19.      | Nagaland                  | 27                                               | 25                                               | 2                                                | 34                                               | 25                                               | 9                                                | 34                                               | 22                                               | 12                                               |
| 20.      | Odisha                    | 716                                              | 598                                              | 118                                              | 862                                              | 601                                              | 261                                              | 862                                              | 656                                              | 206                                              |
| 21.      | Punjab                    | 672                                              | 490                                              | 182                                              | 674                                              | 546                                              | 128                                              | 674                                              | 538                                              | 136                                              |
| 22.      | Rajasthan                 | 1191                                             | 985                                              | 206                                              | 1205                                             | 1076                                             | 129                                              | 1225                                             | 1122                                             | 103                                              |
| 23.      | Sikkim                    | 18                                               | 14                                               | 4                                                | 23                                               | 13                                               | 10                                               | 23                                               | 18                                               | 5                                                |

| 24.   | Tamil Nadu    | 1015   | 969   | 46   | 1047   | 939   | 108   |   1108 |   908 |   200 |
|-------|---------------|--------|-------|------|--------|-------|-------|--------|-------|-------|
| 25.   | Tripura       | 104    | 68    | 36   | 106    | 77    | 29    |    107 |    76 |    31 |
| 26.   | Uttar Pradesh | 2104   | 1827  | 277  | 3142   | 1728  | 1414  |   3204 |  1856 |  1348 |
| 27.   | Uttarakhand   | 280    | 206   | 74   | 291    | 218   | 73    |    291 |   230 |    61 |
| 28.   | West Bengal   | 959    | 900   | 59   | 1013   | 913   | 100   |    956 |   916 |    40 |
| 29.   | A & N Island  |        |       |      |        |       |       |     11 |    11 |     0 |
| 30.   | Chandigarh    | 30     | 30    | 0    | 30     | 30    | 0     |     30 |    30 |     0 |
| 31.   | D & N Haveli  | 7      | 6     | 1    | 7      | 6     | 1     |      7 |     7 |     0 |
| 32.   | Delhi         | 793    | 490   | 303  | 793    | 489   | 304   |    799 |   482 |   317 |
| 33.   | Lakshadweep   | 3      | 3     | 0    | 3      | 3     | 0     |      3 |     2 |     1 |
| 34.   | Puducherry    | 26     | 14    | 12   | 26     | 13    | 13    |     26 |    12 |    14 |
| Total | Total         | 20502  | 16070 | 4432 | 22288  | 16413 | 5875  |  22474 | 16728 |  5746 |

***************

## th Number of Cases Pending before High Courts

## Annexure - III

## Statement referred to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *521 dated 04 April, 2018.

| Sr. No.             | High Court Name                         | Total Number of Cases Pending   | Total Number of Cases Pending   | Total Number of Cases Pending   | Total Number of Cases Pending   |
|---------------------|-----------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| Sr. No.             | High Court Name                         | Civil                           | Criminal                        | Writs                           | Total                           |
| 1.                  | Allahabad High Court                    | 153725                          | 301891                          | 250958                          | 706574                          |
| 2.                  | Calcutta High Court                     | 106717                          | 43284                           | 85203                           | 235204                          |
| 3.                  | Gauhati High Court                      | 12578                           | 6871                            | 15574                           | 35023                           |
| 4.                  | High Court of Bombay                    | 302656                          | 50704                           | 110714                          | 464074                          |
| 5.                  | High Court of Chhattisgarh              | 37253                           | 23899                           | 0                               | 61152                           |
| 6.                  | High Court of Delhi                     | 29879                           | 18812                           | 21057                           | 69748                           |
| 7.                  | High Court of Gujarat                   | 43069                           | 32527                           | 34113                           | 109709                          |
| 8.                  | High Court of Himachal Pradesh          | 24505                           | 6059                            | 5419                            | 35983                           |
| 9.                  | High Court of Jammu and Kashmir         | 76393                           | 8274                            | 0                               | 84667                           |
| 10.                 | High Court of Jharkhand                 | 46314                           | 43685                           | 0                               | 89999                           |
| 11.                 | High Court of Karnataka                 | 118262                          | 30943                           | 68113                           | 217318                          |
| 12.                 | High Court of Kerala                    | 79647                           | 38157                           | 65687                           | 183491                          |
| 13.                 | High Court of Madhya Pradesh            | 105694                          | 118437                          | 89236                           | 313367                          |
| 14.                 | High Court of Manipur                   | 15074                           | 1549                            | 0                               | 16623                           |
| 15.                 | High Court of Meghalaya                 | 316                             | 39                              | 621                             | 976                             |
| 16.                 | High Court of Punjab and Haryana        | 197422                          | 119379                          | 72702                           | 389503                          |
| 17.                 | High Court of Rajasthan                 | 84825                           | 71870                           | 103799                          | 260494                          |
| 18.                 | High Court of Sikkim                    | 54                              | 63                              | 104                             | 221                             |
| 19.                 | High Court of Tripura                   | 1025                            | 458                             | 1522                            | 3005                            |
| 20.                 | High Court of Uttarakhand               | 10258                           | 10267                           | 15470                           | 35995                           |
| 21.                 | Madras High Court                       | 128196                          | 42105                           | 144044                          | 314345                          |
| 22.                 | Orissa High Court                       | 43258                           | 44112                           | 83895                           | 171265                          |
| 23.                 | Patna High Court                        | 29615                           | 55796                           | 60979                           | 146390                          |
| 24.                 | Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court | 107804                          | 46325                           | 170410                          | 324539                          |
| Total Pending Cases | Total Pending Cases                     | 1754539                         | 1115506                         | 1399620                         | 4269665                         |

Source: NJDG

*************

## Annexure - IV Statement referred to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *521 dated 04 th April, 2018. Number of Cases Pending before the District and Subordinate Courts, State-wise / UT-wise

| Sr.   |                        | Total Number of Cases Pending   | Total Number of Cases Pending   | Total Number of Cases Pending   |
|-------|------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| No.   | Name of State / UT     | Civil                           | Criminal                        | Total                           |
| 1.    | Andaman And Nicobar    | 3296                            | 7889                            | 11185                           |
| 2.    | Andhra Pradesh         | 286741                          | 221744                          | 508485                          |
| 3.    | Assam                  | 58507                           | 176217                          | 234724                          |
| 4.    | Bihar                  | 254200                          | 1452554                         | 1706754                         |
| 5.    | Chandigarh             | 16575                           | 23926                           | 40501                           |
| 6.    | Chhattisgarh           | 57533                           | 210446                          | 267979                          |
| 7.    | Delhi                  | 182427                          | 466235                          | 648662                          |
| 8.    | Diu and Daman          | 957                             | 850                             | 1807                            |
| 9.    | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 1429                            | 2059                            | 3488                            |
| 10.   | Goa                    | 21674                           | 19444                           | 41118                           |
| 11.   | Gujarat                | 511161                          | 1041926                         | 1553087                         |
| 12.   | Haryana                | 261858                          | 393228                          | 655086                          |
| 13.   | Himachal Pradesh       | 103579                          | 111947                          | 215526                          |
| 14.   | Jammu And Kashmir      | 56636                           | 62013                           | 118649                          |
| 15.   | Jharkhand              | 55521                           | 276156                          | 331677                          |
| 16.   | Karnataka              | 662992                          | 745295                          | 1408287                         |
| 17.   | Kerala                 | 370434                          | 842991                          | 1213425                         |
| 18.   | Madhya Pradesh         | 307400                          | 1048693                         | 1356093                         |
| 19.   | Maharashtra            | 1137033                         | 2251492                         | 3388525                         |
| 20.   | Manipur                | 5572                            | 4415                            | 9987                            |
| 21.   | Meghalaya              | 2102                            | 4792                            | 6894                            |
| 22.   | Mizoram                | 1432                            | 2268                            | 3700                            |
| 23.   | Odisa                  | 244798                          | 795867                          | 1040665                         |
| 24.   | Punjab                 | 248272                          | 342136                          | 590408                          |
| 25.   | Rajasthan              | 399917                          | 1051400                         | 1451317                         |
| 26.   | Sikkim                 | 617                             | 917                             | 1534                            |
| 27.   | Tamil Nadu             | 583631                          | 437364                          | 1020995                         |
| 28.   | Telangana              | 201641                          | 230867                          | 432508                          |
| 29.   | Tripura                | 8069                            | 16570                           | 24639                           |

| 30.                 | Uttar Pradesh       |   1388759 |   4317273 |   5706032 |
|---------------------|---------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 31.                 | Uttarakhand         |     33092 |    181586 |    214678 |
| 32.                 | West Bengal         |    477396 |   1334009 |   1811405 |
| Total Pending Cases | Total Pending Cases |   7945251 |  18074569 |  26019820 |

Source: NJDG

Data in respect of the States of Arunachal Pradesh & Nagaland and Union Territories of Lakshadweep & Puducherry are not available on the website of National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).

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