Pendency of Cases in India
Why in news?
Recently, the special court of Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, sentenced three convicts of the Dehuli massacre case to death.
- The judgement was given forty-four years after the Dehuli massacre incident where 24 Dalits, including women and children, were brutally killed.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Polity)
Mains Question:
Indian Judiciary experiences a very high pendency of cases. Comment. (250 words)
Dimensions of the Article:
- Key highlights about pendency of cases in India
- Reasons for the pendency
- Impact of the pendency
- Way forward
Key highlights about pendency of cases in India:
- As of January 2024 there were over 4.5 crore pending cases across various courts in India.
- Supreme Court has more than 80,000 cases pending.
- High courts have more than 42 lakh cases pending.
- District and Subordinate Courts have around 2.7 crore cases pending.
Reasons for the pendency:
- Insufficient resources: Due to the shortage of courts, judges and staff, the backlog of cases increases.
- Complexity of cases: Owing to the complexity of some cases, it demands more time to get it resolved. Moreover, it is highly difficult to pass a final verdict in a case without proper investigation.
- Procedural delays: Instances like delays in fetching evidence for a case and the tedious legal process involved often take time to find a resolution.
- Lack of Awareness and Accessibility: Many people are unaware of their rights or find the court system too complex and inaccessible.
Impact of the pendency:
- Delayed Justice: There is a saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied,” which explains how delay in delivering justice affects the rule of law.
- Loss of faith in the judicial system: It takes away public trust in the judicial system.
- Economic Impact: Pending cases can lead to stalled business deals, delayed investments, and other economic disruptions.
- Burden on litigants: The litigants have to bear the expenses of the prolonged court proceedings.
Way forward:
- Fill the vacancies: More judges and staffs should be appointed to handle the workload.
- Increase the number of courts: Set up more number of courts to speed up the resolution process.
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Encouraging ADR mechanisms like Lok Adalats, Gram Nyayalayas, Online Dispute Resolution, etc., to ensure timely justice can also help reduce the burden on the courts.
- Fast track courts: Establish more number of fast track special courts (FTSC) to reduce the pendency of cases.
- As of February 2025, 747 FTSCs, including 406 e-POCSO courts, are functional in 30 States/UTs.
