Parliament Question: Pendency of Cases

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2362 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 13th FEBRUARY, 2026 PENDENCY OF CASES 2362. Shri Deepender Singh Hooda: Shri Karti P Chidambaram: Shri Konda Vishweshwar Reddy: Shri Laxmikant Pappu Nishad: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the present number of pending cases before the Supreme Court, various High Courts and subordinate courts across the country as of December, 2025, along with the rise in pendency, if any, during the last three years; (b) the number of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) established to deal with cases involving women, children and other sensitive matters, along with their current disposal rates; (c) the number of sanctioned, working and vacant posts of Judges in the Supreme Court, High Courts and district judiciary, State-wise; (d) whether the Government proposes to increase the sanctioned strength of Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts to address rising pendency, if so, the details thereof and the expected timeline for implementation; (e) the budgetary, legislative and administrative measures taken or proposed during 2024–25 to reduce pendency, fill vacancies in a time-bound manner, strengthen legal aid and improve court infrastructure including e-Courts in Uttar Pradesh; (f) the number of sanctioned, working and vacant posts of Judges in the Allahabad High Court (including Lucknow Bench) and in district and subordinate courts of Uttar Pradesh, district-wise; and (g) the comprehensive steps taken or proposed by the Government to reduce judicial delays and improve case management across all levels of the judiciary? 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): As per information available on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), the present number of pending cases before the Supreme Court, various High Courts and subordinate courts across the country as on 31st December, 2025, along with the rise in pendency, during the last three years is at Annexure-I & II. (b): 774 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including 398 exclusive e-POCSO Courts have been established for time-bound trial and disposal of cases relating to rape and offences under the Protection of 1Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, as on 31.12.2025. The current disposal rate (January’25–December’25) in these Courts is 46.20%. (c): As per data available on Nyaya Vikas Portal, the number of sanctioned, working and vacant posts of Judges in the Supreme Court, High Courts and district judiciary, State-wise is at Annexure-III & IV. (d): The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 was amended to increase the sanctioned strength of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India from 30 to 33 (excluding CJI). The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019 came into force w.e.f. 09.08.2019. The sanctioned strength of Judges of High Court has been increased from 906 in 2014 to 1122 as on 06.02.2026. (e): The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development. Appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts is made under Articles 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution of Indiaand according to the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgment of October 6, 1993 (Second Judges case) read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998 (Third Judges case). As per the MoP, the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Court vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, in consultation with two senior-most puisne Judges of the High Court. Further filling up of vacant positions of judges in District and Subordinate courts is the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned. As per Article 39A of the Constitution of India and as a part of the preventive and strategic legal aid, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) through the State Legal Services Authorities and District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has undertaken several legal services activities in the country to ensure that legal aid reach the poor. To strengthen the criminal court based legal services, the Legal Aid Defense Counsel System (LADCS) Scheme has been introduced as a Central Sector Scheme by the Department of Justice, which involves full time engagement of Legal Aid Defense Counsels (LADCs) with supporting staff at district level. As on December 2025, Legal Aid Defense Counsel (LADC) offices are functional in 680 districts across the country. LADCS Scheme has been approved for the period of 3 financial years 2023-24 to 2025-26) with a total financial outlay of Rs. 998.43 crore and up to January 2026, Rs. 643.755 crore has been released to NALSA for LADCS Scheme. The details of criminal cases assigned and disposed of by LADCs during the last three years are as follows: - Financial Year Criminal Cases Criminal Cases Disposal Rate assigned disposed 2023-24 3,36,830 2,12,505 63% 2024-25 5,32,413 3,72,750 70% 2025-26 (Dec. 3,93,614 2,86,326 73% 2025) Total 12,62,857 8,71,581 69% 2To augment the resources of the State Governments/UTs, the Central Government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in the District and Subordinate Courts since 1993-94, by providing financial assistance in the prescribed fund- sharing pattern between the Centre and States/UTs. Total Central assistance of Rs.1,756.41 crore (as on 31.01.2026) has been provided to the State of Uttar Pradesh since inception of the Scheme. During the FY 2024-25, an amount of Rs.174.12 Crore has been released to the State of Uttar Pradesh. As on 31.01.2026, State of Uttar Pradesh has 2,930 Court Halls and 2,524 Residential Units for Judicial Officers. The Phase-III of the eCourts Project (2023-2027) approved on 13.09.2023 with an outlay of Rs.7,210 crore to make justice delivery progressively more robust, easy and accessible. As on date, 226.44 crore pages have been digitized across courts of Uttar Pradesh.Around 69,22,878 cases have been heard through video conferencing facilities available with the courts in Uttar Pradesh. There are 113 eSewa Kendras (facilitation centres) across Uttar Pradesh courts. For the FY 2024-2025, a total fund of Rs. 79.26 crore has been released for implementation of the eCourts project in Uttar Pradesh. (f): The number of sanctioned, working and vacant posts of Judges in the Allahabad High Court and in district and subordinate courts of Uttar Pradesh, is as below: Court Sanctioned Strength Working Strength Vacancy Allahabad High 160 109 51 Court District & Subordinate Court 3700 2631 1069 Total 3,860 2,741 1,119 However, the details of sanctioned, working and vacant posts of Judges in district and subordinate courts is not centrally maintained district-wise. (g): The disposal of cases is within the exclusive domain of the judiciary. However, 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 initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary: i. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up in August, 2011, with the twin objectives of increasing access to justice by reducing delays in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities. ii. Arrears Committees have been set up in all 25 High Courts and the District Courts as well to clear cases pending for more than five years. iii. The Government has also amended The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2018, The Commercial Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018, The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 and The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018 with a view to reduce pendency. iv. Alternate Dispute Resolution methods have been promoted. The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 was amended in August, 2018 making Pre-institution Mediation and Settlement (PIMS) mandatory in case of commercial disputes. Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been made by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines. v. Lok Adalat is an important Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanism available to common 3people, where the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Under The Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, an award made by a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal lies against it before any court. National Lok Adalats are organized simultaneously in all Taluks, Districts and High Courts on a pre-fixed date. vi. The Government launched the Tele-Law program in 2017, which provides an effective and reliable e-interface platform connecting the needy and disadvantaged sections seeking legal advice and consultation with panel lawyers via video conferencing, telephone and chat facilities available at the Common Service Centres (CSCs) situated in Gram Panchayats and through Tele- Law mobile App. Pro bono culture and pro bono lawyering have been institutionalized in the country. Pro Bono Panel of advocates has been established in 23 High Courts. Pro Bono Clubs have been started in 109 Law Schools to instill Pro Bono culture in budding lawyers. ******* 4ANNEXURE-I STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2362 FOR ANSWER ON 13.02.2026 REGARDING ‘PENDENCY OF CASES’ Pending cases in Supreme Court and High Courts, along with increase in pendency, for last 3 years 31.12.2023 31.12.2024 31.12.2025 Increase in Pendency (%) Supreme Court of India 82674 82496 92101 11.40 Sr High Court No. 1 Allahabad High Court 1066757 1139977 1207240 13.17 2 Bombay High Court 667961 695578 664979 -0.45 3 Calcutta High Court 202840 204924 198868 -1.96 4 Gauhati High Court 60463 61674 63867 5.63 5 High Court for the State of Telangana 231975 230337 233866 0.82 6 High Court of Andhra Pradesh 247854 245675 249016 0.47 7 High Court of Chhattisgarh 90515 84620 76434 -15.56 8 High Court of Delhi 113391 118672 124978 10.22 9 High Court of Gujarat 167258 171211 175486 4.92 10 High Court of Himachal Pradesh 88355 93922 102503 16.01 11 High Court of Jammu and Kashmir 42925 43280 42964 0.09 12 High Court of Jharkhand 85728 74350 72170 -15.82 13 High Court of Karnataka 284592 298404 328153 15.31 14 High Court of Kerala 255054 251341 250858 -1.65 15 High Court of Madhya Pradesh 448927 467821 471183 4.96 16 High Court of Manipur 4663 5282 5792 24.21 17 High Court of Meghalaya 1125 1253 1739 54.58 18 High Court of Punjab and Haryana 444114 434480 422112 -4.95 19 High Court of Rajasthan 602269 618831 687595 14.17 20 High Court of Sikkim 180 207 272 51.11 21 High Court of Tripura 1280 1056 1429 11.64 22 High Court of Uttarakhand 50393 55616 59658 18.39 23 Madras High Court 574517 559738 546387 -4.90 24 Orissa High Court 146502 145163 158865 8.44 25 Patna High Court 197462 202250 219609 11.22 Total 60,77,100 62,05,662 63,66,023 4.75 Source-National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) 5ANNEXURE-II STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2362 FOR ANSWER ON 13.02.2026 REGARDING ‘PENDENCY OF CASES’ Pending cases in District & Subordinate Courts, along with increase in pendency, for last 3 years Sr State 31.12.2023 31.12.2024 31.12.2025 Increase in No. Pendency (%) 1 Andaman and Nicobar 9070 8514 8329 -8.17 2 Andhra Pradesh 895282 921948 915398 2.25 3 Arunachal Pradesh 10671 9784 10665 -0.06 4 Assam 451138 496819 564945 25.23 5 Bihar 3608014 3660802 3700012 2.55 6 Chandigarh 91078 104194 100498 10.34 7 Chhattisgarh 418688 420661 452049 7.97 8 Delhi 1229806 1452717 1587493 29.08 9 Goa 63159 60895 61285 -2.97 10 Gujarat 1556371 1503763 1590844 2.21 11 Haryana 1524118 1446433 1521463 -0.17 12 Himachal Pradesh 593875 646753 590988 -0.49 13 Jammu and Kashmir 310486 311925 345785 11.37 14 Jharkhand 560102 547977 564410 0.77 15 Karnataka 1987983 2113569 2237391 12.55 16 Kerala 1897469 1783932 1788680 -5.73 17 Ladakh 1244 1407 1583 27.25 18 Lakshadweep 492 518 539 9.55 19 Madhya Pradesh 2055620 2054704 2098396 2.08 20 Maharashtra 5326823 5612876 5926999 11.27 21 Manipur 13286 12857 13931 4.85 22 Meghalaya 16068 15178 16343 1.71 23 Mizoram 3983 6298 6875 72.61 24 Nagaland 3201 3357 3856 20.46 25 Odisha 1687827 1741306 1793888 6.28 26 Puducherry 37477 35381 36495 -2.62 27 Punjab 876134 864524 914711 4.40 28 Rajasthan 2525123 2496501 2542253 0.68 29 Sikkim 1819 1727 1962 7.86 30 Tamil Nadu 1508744 1520258 1735167 15.01 31 Telangana 920101 947417 976399 6.12 32 The Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu 7314 7750 8346 14.11 33 Tripura 44490 44085 58295 31.03 34 Uttar Pradesh 11444974 11648631 11345328 -0.87 35 Uttarakhand 350474 350069 300614 -14.23 36 West Bengal 2996527 3380587 3835113 27.99 Total 4,50,29,031 4,62,36,117 4,76,57,328 5.84 6Source-National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) ANNEXURE-III STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2362 FOR ANSWER ON 13.02.2026 REGARDING ‘PENDENCY OF CASES’ Details of sanctioned strength, working strength and vacant post in Supreme Court & High Courts, as on 11.02.2026 Total Sanctioned Strength Total Working Strength Total Vacancy A. Supreme 34 33 1 Court B. High Court Permanent Additional Total Permanent Additional Total Permanent Additional Total 1 Allahabad 119 41 160 109 0 109 10 41 51 2 Andhra 28 9 37 26 6 32 2 3 5 Pradesh 3 Bombay 71 23 94 53 27 80 18 -4 14 4 Calcutta 54 18 72 32 11 43 22 7 29 5 Chhattisgarh 17 5 22 10 5 15 7 0 7 6 Delhi 45 15 60 44 0 44 1 15 16 7 Gauhati 22 8 30 18 7 25 4 1 5 8 Gujarat 39 13 52 35 0 35 4 13 17 9 Himachal 13 4 17 12 0 12 1 4 5 Pradesh 10 J & K and 19 6 25 14 0 14 5 6 11 Ladakh 11 Jharkhand 20 5 25 14 0 14 6 5 11 12 Karnataka 47 15 62 42 4 46 5 11 16 13 Kerala 35 12 47 28 12 40 7 0 7 14 Madhya 40 13 53 38 4 42 2 9 11 Pradesh 15 Madras 56 19 75 50 3 53 6 16 22 16 Manipur 4 1 5 3 0 3 1 1 2 17 Meghalaya 4 0 4 4 0 4 0 0 0 18 Orissa 24 9 33 19 0 19 5 9 14 19 Patna 40 13 53 38 0 38 2 13 15 20 Punjab & 64 21 85 45 16 61 19 5 24 Haryana 21 Rajasthan 38 12 50 33 6 39 5 6 11 22 Sikkim 3 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 23 Telangana 32 10 42 20 8 28 12 2 14 24 Tripura 4 1 5 4 0 4 0 1 1 25 Uttarakhand 9 2 11 8 2 10 1 0 1 Total 847 275 1122 702 111 813 145 164 309 7ANNEXURE-IV STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2362 FOR ANSWER ON 13.02.2026 REGARDING ‘PENDENCY OF CASES’ Details of sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancy position in District & Subordinate Courts Total Sl. No. High Courts Total Sanctioned Total Working Total Vacancy Strength Strength 1 Allahabad 3700 2631 1069 2 Andhra Pradesh 643 572 71 3 Bombay 2247 1986 261 4 Chhattisgarh 663 465 198 5 Delhi 897 836 61 6 Gujarat 1720 1185 535 7 Guwahati 646 569 77 8 Himachal Pradesh 188 172 16 9 Jammu & Kashmir 322 270 52 10 Jharkhand 707 496 211 11 Karnataka 1395 1129 266 12 Kerala 615 581 34 13 Kolkata 1105 875 230 14 Ladakh 17 9 8 15 Madhya Pradesh 2028 1639 389 16 Madras 1424 1260 164 17 Manipur 62 49 13 18 Meghalaya 99 57 42 19 Odisha 1044 861 183 20 Patna 2025 1665 360 21 Punjab & Haryana 1623 1374 249 22 Rajasthan 1699 1490 209 23 Sikkim 35 23 12 24 Telangana 560 445 115 25 Tripura 133 119 14 26 Uttarakhand 298 270 28 TOTAL 25,895 21,028 4,867 Source-Nyaya Vikas Portal 8