Five crore cases pending in the Supreme Court, High Courts and Lower Courts

Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal’s information in the Lok Sabha

New Delhi – Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed in the Lok Sabha while giving a written reply to question on 29th July that about 5.02 crore cases are pending in 25 High Courts and lower Courts. The Law Minister said that 71,204 cases are pending in the High Courts of the country till 24th July 2023, for more than 30 years. Also 1,01,837 cases are pending in District and lower Courts. According to data obtained from the Supreme Court of India’s Integrated Case Management System (ICMIS), 69,766 cases are pending in the Supreme Court as on 1st July.

These are the main reasons behind pending cases

• Vacancies of Judges in all Courts
• Non-availability of basic physical facilities
• Lack of co-operation from Court staff
• Complexity in the facts of the cases
• Paucity of evidence in conviction
• Involvement of Bar Council, Investigating institutions, witnesses and petitioners
• Lack of proper use of judicial processes

Editorial viewpoint

In the last several decades, multiple political parties have governed, but the disturbing statistics of pending cases have not changed. What is wrong if some patriots ask, what is the point of reporting statistics if the problem of pending cases is not addressed ?