 "Criminal case backlog of Delhi courts hits 1.24 mn in 2024, 2nd to Bengal")
The number of criminal cases pending in Delhi's district courts has surged by 266,000 in just one year, marking the highest increase recorded after West Bengal, according to data presented in the Rajya Sabha.
Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled the data in the upper house last week, highlighting a concerning rise in case backlogs in the national capital.
According to the statistics, there are a total of 45.3 million pending cases across India's lower courts, of which 34.3 million are criminal cases and 10.9 million are civil cases. This marks an overall increase of 618,000 in criminal case backlogs across all states and Union Territories. West Bengal experienced a significant rise as well, with over 270,000 additional criminal cases in its lower courts, the data reveals.
Specifically for Delhi, the situation has worsened considerably. In November 2023, the number of pending criminal cases in Delhi's district courts stood at approximately 982,000. However, by November this year, this number had escalated to 1.24 million.
As of mid-November, the total number of pending cases in Delhi’s lower courts reached 1.46 million, with 1.24 million of these being criminal cases and 220,380 civil cases.
The increasing backlog in criminal cases coincides with a significant shortage of judicial officers. According to another reply in the Rajya Sabha, there are 5,254 vacancies for judicial officers across all lower courts in the country. In Delhi alone, there is a shortfall of 94 judges, exacerbating the situation further.
Currently, the National Judicial Data Grid reports that there are 19,195 judges serving in lower courts across the country, with 679 of them stationed in Delhi’s courts. The backlog of cases, coupled with the scarcity of judicial staff, has led to mounting delays in the justice system, significantly affecting the timely resolution of cases.