More than 96,000 cases are currently pending in the Supreme Court, with over 10,000 cases awaiting disposal for more than a decade, according to figures shared by the Centre in the Rajya Sabha.
The government also informed Parliament that the total number of pending cases across courts in the country has reached 5.64 crore, underlining the mounting burden on India’s judicial system.In a written reply, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said 26 Supreme Court cases have remained pending for more than 30 years, while 558 cases have been awaiting disposal for over 20 years.The data, sourced from the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), also shows that High Courts continue to face a significant backlog of long-pending cases.
High Courts face huge backlog
According to the figures, 80,660 cases have remained pending in High Courts for more than 30 years, reflecting the scale of delays despite efforts to improve judicial efficiency.The Centre said it has spent over ₹9,800 crore since 2011 to strengthen court infrastructure and introduce technology to improve the justice delivery system. However, the backlog of pending cases remains a major challenge.
Reasons for delay
Replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha, Meghwal said the disposal of cases falls within the judiciary’s domain. He attributed delays to factors such as the complexity of cases, the nature of evidence, and cooperation from lawyers, investigating agencies, witnesses and litigants.He added that the pace of case disposal also depends on the availability of judges, judicial officers, court staff and adequate infrastructure. Vacancies in High Courts and subordinate courts continue to add to the growing pendency, making it difficult to clear the backlog of cases.