Indian Courts Grapple with Massive Case Backlog Despite Infrastructure Investment

NEW DELHI: Improving court infrastructure and integration of technology in the justice delivery system with an outlay of more than Rs 9,800 crore since 2011 have had little impact on disposal of cases pending for several decades. More than 10,000 cases are pending in the Supreme Court for over 10 years — including 558 pending for over 20 years, and 26 cases for 30 years. In the 25 high courts across the country, over 80,000 cases are pending for over three decades. In a written response to a question in Parliament last week, law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal put the onus of disposal of cases on the judiciary, which has not fixed a time frame for their disposal. He further said: “Timely disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia, include availability of adequate number of judges and judicial officers, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, cooperation of stakeholders viz bar, investigation agencies, witnesses, litigants and proper application of rules and procedures.” While the apex court has been prompt in appointing judges against vacancies, the situation in 25 high courts and subordinate courts is not the same. The HCs currently have 341 vacancies of judges against a sanctioned strength of 1,122. The subordinate courts have 7,311 vacancies against an approved strength of 30,868 judges.

The law minister blamed the respective HC collegiums for not following the timeline prescribed for initiating recommendation for appointments of judges for the HCs, the primary reason behind large vacancies. The HC collegium comprises the chief justice and two senior-most judges of the high court. For the SC, the recommendation for the appointment of judges is initiated by the Chief Justice of India. “Arrears Committees have been set up in all 25 high courts and the district courts to clear cases pending for more than five years. The govt has also enacted the New Criminal Laws 2023, Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2018, Commercial Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018, Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 with a view to reduce pendency,” Meghwal said.