 "SC case backlog soars 35% in 5 yrs, high and subordinate courts hit hardest")
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has told Parliament that the number of pending cases in the Supreme Court has surged by 35 per cent over the last five years, climbing from 59,859 in 2019 to 80,765 by the end of 2023.
This rise represents an increase of more than 20,900 cases, putting additional strain on the country's highest court which is now operating at full capacity.
Similarly, in the 23 high courts across the nation, pending cases have risen from 4.68 million in 2019 to over 6.2 million in 2023, a jump of more than 1.5 million cases, reflecting a 33 per cent increase.
The most significant backlog is in subordinate courts, which had 44 million pending cases by the end of 2023. This represents an increase of over 12 million cases, or 38 per cent, compared to 2019, when the lower judiciary had 32 million cases pending, according to government data.
The Union law minister said in Parliament, “There are several reasons that lead to pendency of cases in courts, which include availability of physical infrastructure and supporting court staff, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, cooperation of stakeholders viz bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures.”
Additional reasons contributing to delays in case resolution include the absence of set deadlines for different types of cases established by the courts, frequent adjournments, and insufficient mechanisms for oversight, the law minister said.
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The minister further said that poor coordination among the agencies involved in the criminal justice system often results in a case backlog. Despite the criminal justice system relying on the cooperation of various entities such as the police, prosecution, forensic laboratories, and medico-legal experts, the minister emphasised that the resolution of pending cases is solely the responsibility of the judiciary.
(With agency inputs)