More than 5.11 crore cases pending in the SC, HCs and District Courts of India

If policy decisions are not taken, the number of cases is likely to increase by crores in the future

Mumbai –  The status of pending cases in India in the Supreme Court and other lower Courts is alarming. There are total 5 crore 11 lakhs 37 thousand 642 cases pending which include 82 thousand 703 cases in Supreme Court of India, 60 lakh 55 thousand 374 in the High Courts and 4 crore 49 lakhs 99 thousand 565 in the District Courts. Of these, 1 crore 52 lakh 79 thousand 428 are civil cases, whereas the number of criminal cases stands at 3 crores 58 lakhs 58 thousand 214.

There are a total of 25 High Courts in the country. The situation of pending cases in them is no different. The situation of pending cases in the High courts is more worrisome than that in the Supreme Court and those in the District Courts is still worse. The overall situation of India’s judicial system is worrisome given the pending cases, new cases and the rate of disposal of cases.

Cases pending in the Supreme Court for more than 10 years

Hundreds of cases have been pending in the Supreme Court for years. There are 1,147 cases pending before a three-judge bench, 265 before a five-judge bench, 37 before a seven-judge bench and 70 before a nine-judge bench. The Supreme Court has disposed of 48,561 cases so far till 2024, of which 733 cases took more than 10 years to adjudicate.

The number of cases pending in the Bombay High Court for more than 10 years stands at 1 lakh 56 thousand 992. There are signs that the number of cases in Indian Courts will increase by crores more in the next few years if timely policy decisions are not taken to dispose of cases from the Supreme Court to the lower Courts.