Indian courts burdened with backlog of 5.29 crore cases: Official data

New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) Indian courts are burdened with a massive load of 5.29 crore pending cases, official data up to July 21 available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) showed on Sunday.

The maximum number of 4.65 crore cases are pending in district and subordinate courts, followed by 63.30 lakh cases in High Courts and 86,742 cases in the Supreme Court, the data showed.

Apart from the burgeoning case backlog, the district and subordinate courts appear to have struggled to work at full strength.

According to the Department of Justice, as against a sanctioned strength of 25,843 judicial officers as on July 21, 2015, the lower courts are working with a strength of 21,122.

“Filling up of vacancies in District and Subordinate judiciary falls within the domain of the State/UT governments and High Courts concerned,” according to a statement by the Law and Justice Ministry.

As a measure to reduce backlog, arrears committees have been set up in all 25 High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years, and similar arrears committees have now been set up under District Courts as well, the Ministry said.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a recent reply in Parliament, shared details of government measures taken to fill vacancies in the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

“From May 1, 2014, to July 21, 2025, 70 Judges have been appointed in the Supreme Court. Apart from this, 1,058 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 1,122 till date,” said Meghwal.

He also informed that Fast Track Courts have been established for dealing with cases of heinous crimes, cases involving senior citizens, women and children. As of June 30, 2025, 865 Fast Track Courts are functional across the country.

–IANS

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