Lok Sabha Question No. 2142 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-01
Subject: Backlog of Pending Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Shri Gyaneshwar Patil, Shri Bhumare Sandipanrao Asaram, Dr. Shivaji Bandappa Kalge, Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2142 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 1 ST  AUGUST, 2025

## BACKLOG OF PENDING CASES

†2142.  Shri Gyaneshwar Patil:

Shri Bhumare Sandipanrao Asaram:

Dr. Shivaji Bandappa Kalge:

Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware that the huge backlog of pending cases from  the  local  courts  to  the  Supreme  Court  has  resulted  in  erosion  of confidence in our judicial system;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (c)  the  number  of  pending  cases  in  various  courts  in  the  country,  State-wise including Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; and
- (d) the action taken by the Government in this regard?

## 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) to (d): As per information available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), the  details  of  pending  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court,  High  Courts  and  subordinate Courts as on 28.07.2025 are as under:

|   Sl. No. | Name of Court                   | Pending Cases   |
|-----------|---------------------------------|-----------------|
|         1 | Supreme Court                   | 86,844          |
|         2 | High Courts                     | 63,32,256       |
|         3 | District and Subordinate Courts | 4,66,69,624     |

The State/UT-wise details of cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts and High Courts (including Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra) are at Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.

The Government is cognizant of the issue of case pendency at various levels of the judiciary. While the issue of pendency of cases lies within the purview of the judiciary, the Government remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthening the justice  delivery  system  by  providing  necessary  resources,  infrastructural  support, and policy interventions. Recognizing the need for judicial efficiency, the Government has undertaken several proactive measures, as mandated under Article 21 of the Constitution, to facilitate faster disposal of cases and enhance the overall functioning of courts. To this end, the Government has taken several initiatives to create  an  enabling  ecosystem  for  faster  disposal  of  cases  by  the  judiciary  which include the following:

- 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             |
| 28.07.2025 | 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 colour 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.
- 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.

*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         |                     |

*******

## ANNEXURE-I

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2142 FOR ANSWER ON 01.08.2025 REGARDING 'BACKLOG OF PENDING CASES'.

## Cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts as on 28.07.2025

|   Sl. No | States/UT                          | Pending Cases   |
|----------|------------------------------------|-----------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh                     | 8,99,526        |
|        2 | Telangana                          | 9,54,794        |
|        3 | Andaman &Nicobar                   | 8,299           |
|        4 | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 10,263          |
|        5 | Assam                              | 5,46,047        |
|        6 | Bihar                              | 36,58,281       |
|        7 | Chandigarh                         | 1,03,495        |
|        8 | Chhattisgarh                       | 4,33,967        |
|        9 | Delhi                              | 15,58,494       |
|       10 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Diu &Daman | 8,298           |
|       11 | Goa                                | 59,962          |
|       12 | Gujarat                            | 16,48,509       |
|       13 | Haryana                            | 15,06,784       |
|       14 | Himachal Pradesh                   | 6,73,692        |
|       15 | Jammu& Kashmir                     | 3,35,513        |
|       16 | Jharkhand                          | 5,54,553        |
|       17 | Karnataka                          | 22,10,048       |
|       18 | Kerala                             | 17,45,154       |
|       19 | Ladakh                             | 1,417           |
|       20 | Madhya Pradesh                     | 20,37,995       |
|       21 | Maharashtra                        | 58,03,555       |
|       22 | Manipur                            | 13,785          |
|       23 | Meghalaya                          | 15,632          |
|       24 | Mizoram                            | 6,645           |
|       25 | Nagaland                           | 3,583           |
|       26 | Orissa                             | 16,93,114       |
|       27 | Puducherry                         | 35,406          |
|       28 | Punjab                             | 8,91,601        |
|       29 | Rajasthan                          | 23,24,222       |
|       30 | Sikkim                             | 1,797           |
|       31 | Tamil Nadu                         | 15,73,944       |
|       32 | Tripura                            | 55,999          |
|       33 | U.T of Lakshadweep                 | 521             |
|       34 | Uttar Pradesh                      | 1,13,94,105     |
|       35 | Uttarakhand                        | 3,24,441        |
|       36 | West Bengal                        | 35,76,183       |

Source: National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)

## ANNEXURE-II

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2142 FOR ANSWER ON 01.08.2025 REGARDING 'BACKLOG OF PENDING CASES'.

## Cases pending in High Courts as on 28.07.2025

| Sl. No.   | Name of High Court        | Pending Cases   |
|-----------|---------------------------|-----------------|
| 1.        | Allahabad                 | 11,88,704       |
| 2.        | Bombay                    | 6,67,629        |
| 3.        | Calcutta                  | 1,94,800        |
| 4.        | Gauhati                   | 62,670          |
| 5.        | Telangana                 | 2,34,823        |
| 6.        | Andhra Pradesh            | 2,48,292        |
| 7.        | Chhattisgarh              | 80,755          |
| 8.        | Delhi                     | 1,37,411        |
| 9.        | Gujarat                   | 1,74,820        |
| 10.       | Himachal Pradesh          | 1,00,268        |
| 11.       | Jammu and Kashmir& Ladakh | 45,296          |
| 12.       | Jharkhand                 | 73,671          |
| 13.       | Karnataka                 | 3,18,580        |
| 14.       | Kerala                    | 2,57,721        |
| 15.       | Madhya Pradesh            | 4,86,974        |
| 16.       | Manipur                   | 5,615           |
| 17.       | Meghalaya                 | 1,369           |
| 18.       | Punjab and Haryana        | 4,34,073        |
| 19.       | Rajasthan                 | 6,61,083        |
| 20.       | Sikkim                    | 255             |
| 21.       | Tripura                   | 1,214           |
| 22.       | Uttarakhand               | 57,293          |
| 23.       | Madras                    | 5,31,992        |
| 24.       | Orissa                    | 1,53,477        |
| 25.       | Patna                     | 2,13,471        |
| Total     | Total                     | 63,32,256       |

Source: National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)