Lok Sabha Question No. 1020 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-25
Subject: Pendency in Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Shri Malvinder Singh Kang

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1020 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 25 TH  JULY, 2025

## PENDENCY IN COURTS

## 1020.  SHRI MALVINDER SINGH KANG:

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

- (a) the number of current pending cases in the Supreme Court, High Courts and subordinate Courts;
- (b)  the  measures/initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  to  reduce  pendency  in courts;
- (c)  the  number  of  fast-track  courts  that  are  operational  across  the  Country, State-wise; and
- (d) the details of funds that have been allocated and utilized under Centrally Sponsored Scheme for judicial infrastructure in the last two years, particularly in Punjab?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

## (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

- (a): As per information available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), the details  of  pending  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court,  High  Courts  and  District  & Subordinate Courts as on 21.07.2025 are as under:

|   Sl. No. | Name of Court                   | Pending Cases   |
|-----------|---------------------------------|-----------------|
|         1 | Supreme Court                   | 86,742          |
|         2 | High Courts                     | 63,30,409       |
|         3 | District and Subordinate Courts | 4,65,27,906     |

(b): The  Government  has  taken  several  initiatives  to  provide  an  ecosystem  for faster disposal of cases and reducing pendency in courts, as under:

- i. The National  Mission  for  Justice  Delivery  and  Legal  Reforms  was  set  up  in August,  2011,  with  the  twin  objectives  of  increasing  access  to  justice  by reducing delays in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities.  The Mission has been  pursuing  a  coordinated  approach  for  phased  liquidation  of  arrears  and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure  for  courts  including  computerization,  increase  in  sanctioned strength of District and Subordinate Courts, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation and re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.
- ii. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for development of Judicial Infrastructure, funds are being released to States/UTs for construction of court halls, residential quarters for judicial officers, lawyers' halls, toilet complexes and digital computer rooms that ease the life of various stakeholders including the litigants, thereby aiding justice delivery. As on 30.06.2025, Rs. 12,101.89 crores have been released since the inception of this Scheme in 1993-94. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 (as on 30.06.2014) to 22,372 (as  on  30.06.2025)  and  the  number  of  residential  units  has  increased  from 10,211 (as on 30.06.2014) to 19,851 (as on 30.06.2025), under this Scheme.
- iii. Under Phase I and II of the e-Courts Mission Mode Project, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was leveraged for IT enablement of District and  Subordinate  Courts  and  18,735  District  and  Subordinate  Courts  were computerized till 2023. WAN connectivity was provided to 2977 sites. Video Conferencing facility  was  enabled  between  3,240  court  complexes  and  1,272 corresponding jails. 778 eSewa Kendras (facilitation centres) were established to bridge the digital divide by providing citizen centric services to lawyers and litigants. 21 virtual courts were set up in 17 States/UTs, which handled more than 2.78 crore cases and realized more than Rs. 384.14 crores in fines up to March 2023.

The  Phase-III  of  the  eCourts  Project  (2023-2027)  was  approved  on 13.09.2023  with  an  outlay  of  Rs.7,210  crore,  which  is  aimed  at  ushering  a regime  of  enhanced  ease  of  justice  by  moving  towards  digital,  online  and paperless  courts.  It  intends  to  incorporate  latest  technology  such  as  Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make justice delivery progressively more robust, easy and accessible. Till date, 506.05 crores pages of court records have been digitized in the High Courts and District Courts. More than 3.65 crore hearings have taken place through Video conferencing and live streaming is functional in 11 High Courts.  The  number  of  eSewa  Kendras  (facilitation  centres)  has  increased  to 1814  across  High  Courts  and  District  Courts.  Artificial  Intelligence  and Machine  learning  tools  are  being  used  in  case  management  hearing  and  for transcription of oral judgements in the Supreme Court of India.

- iv. The Government has been filling up vacancies of Judges in the Supreme Court of  India  and  the  High  Courts  from  time  to  time.  From  01.05.2014  to 21.07.2025, 70 Judges have been appointed in the Supreme Court. 1058 new Judges were appointed and 794 Additional Judges were made permanent in the High Courts during the same period. The sanctioned strength of Judges of the High  Courts  has  increased  from  906  in  May,  2014  to  1122  till  date.  The sanctioned and working strengths of judicial officers in District and Subordinate Courts have increased as under:

| As on      | Sanctioned Strength   | Working Strength   |
|------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 31.12.2013 | 19,518                | 15,115             |
| 21.07.2025 | 25,843                | 21,122             |

Source: MIS Portal of the Department of Justice

However, filling up of vacancies in District and Subordinate judiciary falls within the domain of the State/UT Governments and High Courts concerned.

- v. In  pursuance  of  a  Resolution  passed  in  Chief  Justices'  Conference  held  in April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in all 25 High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years.  Arrears Committees have now been set up under District Courts as well.

- vi. Under the aegis of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, the Fast Track Courts have been established for dealing with cases of heinous crimes, cases involving senior citizens, women, children, etc. As on 30.06.2025, 865 Fast Track Courts are  functional  across  the  country.  With  a  view  to  fast-track  criminal  cases involving elected MPs / MLAs, ten (10) Special Courts are functional in nine (9)  States/UTs.  Further,  the  Central  Government  had  approved  a  Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country, for the expeditious disposal of pending cases of Rape and POCSO Act. As  on  30.06.2025,  725  FTSCs  including  392  exclusive  POCSO  (ePOCSO) Courts  are  functional  in  29  States/UTs,  which  have  disposed  of  more  than 3,34,000 cases since their inception.
- vii. With a view to reduce pendency and unclogging of the courts, the Government has amended various laws like The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2018,  The  Commercial  Courts  (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  The  Specific  Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 and The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018.
- viii. Alternate  Dispute  Resolution  methods  have  been  progressively  promoted. Accordingly, The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 was amended in August, 2018 making Pre-institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) mandatory in case of commercial  disputes.  In  order  to  further  enhance  the  efficiency  of  the  PIMS mechanism,  the  Government,  through  The  Mediation  Act,  2023,  has  further amended the Commercial Court Act, 2015. The amendments to The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 have been made in the years 2015, 2019 and 2021 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes.

Under  The  Commercial  Courts  Act,  2015,  there  is  a  provision  for  case management hearing, which provides for an efficient, effective and purposeful judicial  management  of  a  case  so  as  to  achieve  a  timely  and  qualitative resolution of a dispute. It assists in early identification of disputed issues of facts and law, establishment of procedural calendar for the life of the case and the exploration of possibilities of the resolution of the dispute.

Another novel feature introduced for the commercial courts is the system of color banding, which limits the number of adjournments that can be granted in any commercial matter to three and alerts the judges about listing of the cases in accordance with their stage of pendency.

- ix. Lok  Adalat  is  an  important  Alternative  Disputes  Resolution  Mechanism available to common people, where the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law  or  at  pre-litigation  stage  are  settled/  compromised  amicably.   Under  The Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, an award made by a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal lies against it before any court. National Lok Adalats are organized simultaneously in all Taluks, Districts and High Courts on a pre-fixed date.

The  details  of  the  cases  disposed  of  in  National  Lok  Adalats  during the last four years are as under: -

| Years              | Pre-litigation Cases   | Pending Cases   | Grand Total   |
|--------------------|------------------------|-----------------|---------------|
| 2021               | 72,06,294              | 55,81,743       | 1,27,88,037   |
| 2022               | 3,10,15,215            | 1,09,10,795     | 4,19,26,010   |
| 2023               | 7,10,32,980            | 1,43,09,237     | 8,53,42,217   |
| 2024               | 8,70,19,059            | 1,75,07,060     | 10,45,26,119  |
| 2025 (up to March) | 2,58,28,368            | 50,82,181       | 3,09,10,549   |
| Total              | 22,21,01,916           | 5,33,91,016     | 27,54,92,932  |

- x. The Government launched the Tele-Law programme in 2017, which provides an effective and  reliable e-interface platform  connecting  the  needy  and disadvantaged  sections  seeking  legal  advice  and  consultation with  panel lawyers  via  video  conferencing,  telephone  and  chat  facilities  available  at  the Common  Service  Centres  (CSCs)  situated  in  Gram  Panchayats  and  through Tele-Law mobile App.

*Percentage-wise break-up of Tele - Law Data

| Till 30 th June, 2025   | Cases Registered    | %wise Break Up      | Advice Enabled      | %wise Break Up      |
|-------------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| Gender -wise            | Gender -wise        | Gender -wise        | Gender -wise        | Gender -wise        |
| Female                  | 44,81,170           | 39.58%              | 44,21,450           | 39.55%              |
| Male                    | 68,39,728           | 60.42%              | 67,58,085           | 60.45%              |
| Caste Category-wise     | Caste Category-wise | Caste Category-wise | Caste Category-wise | Caste Category-wise |
| General                 | 26,89,371           | 23.76%              | 26,48,100           | 23.69%              |
| OBC                     | 35,64,430           | 31.49%              | 35,16,236           | 31.45%              |
| SC                      | 35,27,303           | 31.16%              | 34,90,737           | 31.22%              |
| ST                      | 15,39,794           | 13.60%              | 15,24,462           | 13.64%              |
| Total                   | 1,13,20,898         |                     | 1,11,79,535         |                     |

- xi. Efforts  have  been  made  to  institutionalize  pro  bono  culture  and  pro  bono lawyering  in  the  country.  A  technological  framework  has  been  put  in  place where advocates volunteering to give their time and services for pro bono work can  register  as  Pro  Bono  Advocates  on  Nyaya  Bandhu  (Android  &  iOS  and Apps). Nyaya Bandhu Services are also available on UMANG Platform. Pro Bono Panel of advocates has been initiated in 23 High Courts at the State/UT level. Pro Bono Clubs have been started in 109 Law Schools to instill Pro Bono culture in budding lawyers.
2. (c): As per information received from the High Courts, 865 Fast Track Courts ( FTCs) are functional across 21 State/UT's with pendency of 14,38,198 cases as on 30.06.2025. State/UT-wise details are at Annexure-I . In addition to the above, pursuant  to  the  enactment  of  the  Criminal  Law  (Amendment)  Act,  2018  and  in compliance  with the  directions  of  the  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  in  Suo  Motu  Writ (Criminal)  No.  1/2019,  the  Central  Government  has  been  implementing  since October, 2019 a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the establishment of Fast Track Special  Courts  (FTSCs),  including  exclusive  POCSO  (e-POCSO)  Courts.  These courts are dedicated to the time-bound trial and disposal of pending cases related to rape and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.  As  per  data  provided  by  the  High  Courts, 725  FTSCs,  including  392 exclusive POCSO Courts , are functional across 29 States/UTs as on 30.06.2025. Since  the  inception  of  the  Scheme,  these  courts  have  collectively  disposed  of

- 3,34,213  cases,  while  2,00,349  cases  are  currently  pending.  The  State/UT-wise details are at Annexure-II .
- (d): The  details  of  funds,  allocated  and  utilized  under  Centrally  Sponsored Scheme for judicial infrastructure in the last two years, particularly in Punjab are as under:

(Rs. in Crore)

| Total funds allocated and utilized in last two years.     | Total funds allocated and utilized in last two years.     | Total funds allocated and utilized in last two years.     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| Financial Year                                            | Funds allocated                                           | Funds Utilized                                            |
| 2023-24                                                   | 1051                                                      | 1060.17                                                   |
| 2024-25                                                   | 1123.40                                                   | 1123.40                                                   |
| 2025-26                                                   | 998                                                       | 50.48 (as on 30.06.2025)                                  |
| Funds allocated and utilized for Punjab in last two years | Funds allocated and utilized for Punjab in last two years | Funds allocated and utilized for Punjab in last two years |
| Financial Year                                            | Funds allocated                                           | Funds Utilized                                            |
| 2023-24                                                   | 47.28                                                     | 18.42                                                     |
| 2024-25*                                                  | 46.88                                                     | 0.00                                                      |
| 2025-26*                                                  | 49.25                                                     | 0.00 (as on 30.06.2025)                                   |

*******

## ANNEXURE-I

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (C)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1020  FOR  ANSWER  ON  25.07.2025  REGARDING 'PENDENCY IN COURTS'.

## State/UT-wise Details of functional Fast Track Court (FTCs) as on 30.06.2025

| Sl. No.   | Name of States/UTs                 |   Number of Functional FTCs |   Pendency |
|-----------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------|------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh                     |                          21 |       6915 |
| 2         | Andaman &Nicobar island            |                           0 |          0 |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                           0 |          0 |
| 4         | Assam                              |                          16 |      13713 |
| 5         | Bihar                              |                           0 |          0 |
| 6         | Chandigarh                         |                           0 |          0 |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                       |                          27 |       5816 |
| 8         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                           0 |          0 |
| 9         | Delhi                              |                          26 |       6625 |
| 10        | Goa                                |                           4 |       1349 |
| 11        | Gujarat                            |                          54 |       5316 |
| 12        | Haryana                            |                           6 |        774 |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh                   |                           3 |        332 |
| 14        | Jammu &Kashmir                     |                           8 |       1423 |
| 15        | Jharkhand                          |                          41 |       9110 |
| 16        | Karnataka                          |                           0 |          0 |
| 17        | Kerala                             |                           0 |          0 |
| 18        | Ladakh                             |                           0 |          0 |
| 19        | Lakshadweep                        |                           0 |          0 |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh                     |                           0 |          0 |
| 21        | Maharashtra                        |                         102 |     153896 |
| 22        | Manipur                            |                           6 |        199 |
| 23        | Meghalaya                          |                           0 |          0 |
| 24        | Mizoram                            |                           2 |        259 |
| 25        | Nagaland                           |                           0 |          0 |
| 26        | Odisha                             |                           0 |          0 |
| 27        | Puducherry                         |                           1 |       4458 |
| 28        | Punjab                             |                           7 |        152 |
| 29        | Rajasthan                          |                           0 |          0 |
| 30        | Sikkim                             |                           2 |         17 |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                         |                          72 |      80244 |
| 32        | Telangana                          |                           0 |          0 |
| 33        | Tripura                            |                           2 |       1049 |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                      |                         373 |    1057849 |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                        |                           4 |       1103 |
| 36        | West Bengal                        |                          88 |      87599 |
|           | TOTAL                              |                         865 |    1438198 |

## ANNEXURE-II

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (C)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1020  FOR  ANSWER  ON  25.07.2025  REGARDING 'PENDENCY IN COURTS'.

|         |                                     | Functional Courts                      | Functional Courts      |          |
|---------|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|------------------------|----------|
| Sl. No. | Name of States/UTs                  | FTSCs including Exclusive POCSO Courts | Exclusive POCSO Courts | Pendency |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh                      | 16                                     | 16                     | 6303     |
| 2       | Assam                               | 17                                     | 17                     | 6435     |
| 3       | Bihar                               | 46                                     | 46                     | 18459    |
| 4       | Chandigarh                          | 1                                      | 0                      | 214      |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh                        | 15                                     | 11                     | 1739     |
| 6       | Delhi                               | 16                                     | 11                     | 3560     |
| 7       | Goa                                 | 1                                      | 0                      | 155      |
| 8       | Gujarat                             | 35                                     | 24                     | 5315     |
| 9       | Haryana                             | 18                                     | 14                     | 4420     |
| 10      | Himachal Pradesh                    | 6                                      | 3                      | 643      |
| 11      | J&K                                 | 4                                      | 2                      | 497      |
| 12      | Karnataka                           | 30                                     | 17                     | 5220     |
| 13      | Kerala                              | 55                                     | 14                     | 6292     |
| 14      | Madhya Pradesh                      | 67                                     | 56                     | 10713    |
| 15      | Maharashtra                         | 2                                      | 1                      | 290      |
| 16      | Manipur                             | 2                                      | 0                      | 49       |
| 17      | Meghalaya                           | 5                                      | 5                      | 1097     |
| 18      | Mizoram                             | 3                                      | 1                      | 75       |
| 19      | Nagaland                            | 1                                      | 0                      | 59       |
| 20      | Odisha                              | 44                                     | 23                     | 9065     |
| 21      | Puducherry                          | 1                                      | 1                      | 218      |
| 22      | Punjab                              | 12                                     | 3                      | 1451     |
| 23      | Rajasthan                           | 45                                     | 30                     | 4892     |
| 24      | Tamil Nadu                          | 14                                     | 14                     | 5234     |
| 25      | Telangana                           | 36                                     | 0                      | 8782     |
| 26      | Tripura                             | 3                                      | 1                      | 224      |
| 27      | Uttarakhand                         | 4                                      | 0                      | 1094     |
| 28      | Uttar Pradesh                       | 218                                    | 74                     | 92700    |
| 29      | West Bengal                         | 8                                      | 8                      | 5154     |
| 30      | Jharkhand *                         | 0                                      | 0                      | 0        |
| 31      | A&N Islands**                       | 0                                      | 0                      | 0        |
| 32      | Arunachal Pradesh***                | 0                                      | 0                      | 0        |
| 33      | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 0                                      | 0                      | 0        |
| 34      | Ladakh                              | 0                                      | 0                      | 0        |
| 35      | Lakshadweep                         | 0                                      | 0                      | 0        |
| 36      | Sikkim                              | 0                                      | 0                      | 0        |
|         | TOTAL                               | 725                                    | 392                    | 200349   |

Note: At the inception of the Scheme, the allocation of FTSCs across the country was based on a criterion of 65 to 165 pending cases per court, meaning one FTSC would be established for every 65 to 165 pending cases. Based on that, only 31 States/UTs were eligible to join the Scheme.

* The State of Jharkhand has decided to exit the FTSCs Scheme vide letter dated 07.07.2025.

** A&N islands has consented to join the Scheme, but is yet to operationalize any court.

*** Arunachal Pradesh has opted out of the Scheme citing a very low number of pending cases of Rape and POCSO Act.