According to data from the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as of September 14, 2024, a total of 6,659,565 civil and criminal cases are delayed in India’s district courts due to the unavailability of lawyers. The NJDG highlights this as the leading cause of case delays, particularly affecting over 510,000 criminal cases.
Other major reasons for delays include over 3.8 million cases where the accused are absconding, nearly 3 million cases stalled due to witness issues, and around 2.46 million cases that have been stayed for various reasons. Additionally, more than 800,000 cases are delayed because the involved parties are not interested in pursuing them further.
Other factors contributing to the backlog include issues with decree execution, frequent appeals, the absence of legal representatives, missing case records, and stays imposed by higher courts.
These statistics highlight the significant role lawyers play in exacerbating the backlog in courts. The Supreme Court, acknowledging this issue, pointed out last year that the problem of case pendency, especially in Maharashtra courts, cannot be resolved without cooperation from lawyers. The Court emphasized that lawyers, as officers of the court, must conduct themselves fairly and reasonably during trials.
A few years ago, Justice MR Shah also noted that the unavailability of lawyers was a problem before the Supreme Court, with frequent adjournment requests being one of the causes for case delays, especially in criminal matters. Similarly, former Chief Justice of India NV Ramana urged lawyers to help reduce the backlog by encouraging clients to settle disputes during pre-litigation stages.
The NJDG also provides insights into the age of pending cases. Around 99,000 cases have been pending for over 30 years in district courts. Additionally, over 20 million cases filed within the past three years are still awaiting disposal.
In High Courts, nearly 6 million cases are pending, with over 76,000 of them exceeding 30 years. Of these, over 107,000 are bail matters. The Supreme Court has a total of 67,390 pending cases, of which only 21 are older than 30 years.
