Parliament Question: Judge-to-population ratio

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 118 ANSWERED ON 29/01/2026 JUDGE-TO-POPULATION RATIO 118 Shri Pramod Tiwari:

Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:

(a) the present judge-to-population ratio in the country;

(b) the ratio as recommended by the Law Commission in its 120th report;

(c) the number of undertrials in the country in 2023, as per the latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)/ MHA;

(d) the reasons for undertrials spending a long time in prisons; and

(e) the steps taken for expeditious disposal of cases? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) & (b): At present, the judge-to-population ratio in the country works out to be approximately 22 Judges per million population. In order to calculate the judge population ratio for per million population in a particular year, the Ministry of Law and Justice uses the criterion based on the population data as per Census 2011 (1210.85 million) and the sanctioned strength of Judges in the Supreme Court, High Court and District & Subordinate Courts in the year 2026. The Law Commission, in its 120th Report, has recommended a judge-to-population ratio of 50 judges per million of the Indian population.(c) to (e): The number of undertrials in the country in 2023, as per the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)/MHA are 3,89,910. The disposal of cases is within the exclusive domain of the judiciary. The pendency of cases in courts arises due to several factors, which, inter alia, include the complexity of the facts involved, the nature of evidence, the cooperation of stakeholders, viz., the bar, investigation agencies, witnesses, and litigants, as well as the availability of physical infrastructure and supporting court staff. The Central Government is committed for speedy disposal of cases and reducing pendency as mandated under Article 21 of the Constitution and has taken several steps to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary, which includes, inter-alia, amalgamation of latest technologies for increasing access to justice and greater transparency under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project and supplementing of the resources of the State Governments/UTs for providing suitable infrastructure facilities for the District and Subordinate Judiciary under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary.

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