Judicial Pendency in India

The staggering pendency of over 5 crore cases in Indian courts, alongside recent remarks by President Droupadi Murmu on the "black coat syndrome", has renewed attention to judicial delays and the need for systemic reform.

Judicial Backlog, Case Management Deficits, and Alternative Dispute Resolution as a Path to Reform

1. Scale of Judicial Pendency in India

• Over 5 crore cases are pending across all levels:
  • Supreme Court (SC): ~86,700 cases
  • High Courts (HCs): ~63.3 lakh cases
  • District/Subordinate Courts: ~4.6 crore cases
• These numbers are reflective of chronic systemic bottlenecks and a sluggish justice delivery mechanism.

2. Institutional Bottlenecks Hindering Timely Justice

• Human Resource Deficit
  • Judiciary operates at 79% of its sanctioned strength.
  • 5,665 vacancies out of 26,927 sanctioned posts.
  • Judge-to-population ratio: 15 per 10 lakh (current) vs 50 per 10 lakh recommended by the Law Commission (1987).
  • District judiciary averages 18 judges per 10 lakh population, despite handling 87% of litigation volume.
• Inefficient Case Management
  • Absence of clear timelines for filings, hearings, and witness examination.
  • No national framework for scheduling or monitoring of court processes.
  • Frequent adjournments and procedural delays severely impair the timeline of justice.

3. Disparity in Disposal Timelines

• • Criminal vs Civil Case Disposal
    • Criminal Cases Resolved within 1 Year:
    • High Courts: 3%
    • Supreme Court: 5%
    • District Courts: 6%
• Civil Cases Disposal within 1 Year:
  • District Courts: Only 38.7%
  • ~20% of civil cases stretch beyond 5 years.

4. Structural and Procedural Gaps

• Infrastructural Deficiencies: Many district courts operate without adequate space, digital facilities, or trained personnel.
• No Mandated Timelines: Unlike the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which mandates speedier disposal in criminal trials, civil codes lack stringent deadlines.
• Absence of Digital Integration: Lack of universal e-court infrastructure impairs tracking and automatic scheduling.

5. Role of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

• Significance
  • ADR includes mediation, arbitration, conciliation, and Lok Adalats.
  • Provides cost-effective, time-bound redressal, especially for civil and pre-litigation disputes.

5. Way Forward

• Structural Reforms
  • Implement All India Judicial Services (AIJS) to ensure timely recruitment and quality judgeship.
  • Create specialised benches for tax, environment, and commercial cases to decongest general courts.
• Process Re-engineering
  • Mandate strict timelines for various case types (especially civil) through statutory backing.
  • Integrate AI-driven case scheduling and prioritisation tools into the e-courts system.
• Strengthen ADR Ecosystem
  • Institutionalise pre-litigation mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act.
  • Encourage community mediation centres in rural/semi-urban areas.
• Judicial Performance Monitoring
  • Set up a National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)-based performance review mechanism.
  • Introduce Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for case disposal and pendency reduction.