Judiciary Snapshot
The Ticking Clock of Pending Cases
A clear, citizen-first view of case pendency and why it keeps rising.
Snapshot date: 2026-02-04
Backlog Pulse
5,43,84,047
Total pending cases
2,44,792
New backlog last month
85.8%
Clearance rate last month
Clearance rate = disposed ÷ instituted in the last month.
Total Pendency
5,43,84,047
All courts combined
District Courts
4,79,43,717
District & subordinate courts
High Courts
63,47,502
All High Courts
Supreme Court
92,828
Supreme Court of India
Snapshot values are taken from NJDG dashboards on 2026-02-04.
Courts & Judges
Judges data as of 12-12-2024
Courts count: District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts covered on NJDG.
Courts Covered
18,735
NJDG coverage
Judges Sanctioned
26,897
All courts
Judges Working
21,266
In position
Vacancies
5,631
Open positions
Courts per Million
15.5
Courts per million population (NJDG-covered courts using 2011 Census baseline from Govt reply).
Judges per Million (Govt)
21
Based on sanctioned strength and 2011 census.
Judges per Million (IJR)
15
India Justice Report 2025 estimate.
Supreme Court
Sanctioned34
Working33
Vacant1
High Courts
Sanctioned1,122
Working754
Vacant368
District & Subordinate Courts
Sanctioned25,741
Working20,479
Vacant5,262
Last Month Case Flow (All Courts)
All Courts
Instituted17,19,049
Disposed14,74,257
Clearance rate85.8%
District & Subordinate Courts15,62,672 / 12,99,941
High Courts1,49,863 / 1,68,534
Supreme Court6,514 / 5,782
Dark bars show instituted cases; green bars show disposed cases for the last month.
Age of Pending Cases (High Courts)
0-1 year12,16,630 · 19%
1-3 years13,40,808 · 21%
3-5 years7,77,099 · 12%
5-10 years14,31,075 · 23%
10+ years15,81,890 · 25%
A quarter of High Court cases are older than 10 years.
Civil vs Criminal Mix
All Courts
5,43,84,047
Civil
1,56,23,675
Criminal
3,87,60,372
Civil share vs criminal share of total pending.
District & Subordinate Courts4,79,43,717
Civil: 1,11,03,219Criminal: 3,68,40,498
High Courts63,47,502
Civil: 44,47,107Criminal: 19,00,395
Supreme Court92,828
Civil: 73,349Criminal: 19,479
District Disposals: Contested vs Uncontested
Disposals last month12,99,941
Contested28%
Contested28%
3,69,869
Civil73,056
Criminal2,96,813
Uncontested72%
9,30,072
Civil2,30,535
Criminal6,99,537
Contested cases form a smaller share of disposals but tend to consume more hearing time.
Where Pendency Sits
District & Subordinate Courts
88.15% of total
4,79,43,717
High Courts
11.67% of total
63,47,502
Supreme Court
0.17% of total
92,828
Why It Keeps Growing
Case inflow grows faster than disposal in many years.
Vacancies and uneven judge availability across courts.
Adjournments, procedural delays, and frequent re-listing.
Infrastructure gaps and limited court management capacity.
What Could Help
Focus on early-stage case management and strict timelines.
Increase judge strength and support staff where pendency is highest.
Expand e-courts, digitization, and standardized case tracking.
Target old cases with dedicated backlog clearance drives.
NJDG At A Glance
The national data backbone for court transparency.
eCourts Project
What NJDG is
National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) is a database of orders, judgments, and case details from 18,735 District & Subordinate Courts and all High Courts, built under the eCourts Project.
Live updates
Data is updated on a near real-time basis by connected District and Taluka courts, giving the public an up-to-date view of pendency and disposals.
Orders & judgments coverage
Litigants can access more than 32.19 crore orders/judgments from computerized courts (as of 19.08.2025).
Supreme Court onboarded
Supreme Court data was onboarded to NJDG on 14.09.2023.
Civil + criminal drill-down
NJDG provides case data for civil and criminal matters with drill-down by age, state, and district.
Reasons for delay
Reasons for delay are now included in NJDG to track bottlenecks and enable policy responses to reduce pendency.
Open API access
An Open API is available for Central and State Government agencies (with departmental credentials), with proposals to expand access to non-institutional litigants.
Longest-Running Matters
Multi-decade cases that shape rights, policy, and public trust.
Multi-decade cases
62,000+ High Court cases over 30 years
Official data reported that nearly 62,000 High Court cases are older than 30 years, including cases pending since 1952.
Oldest High Court cases since 1952
Three High Court matters have been pending since 1952, with additional cases dating back to 1954 and 1955.
Constitution Bench oldest since 1986
The oldest Constitution Bench matter in the Supreme Court has been pending since February 28, 1986.
Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community v. State of Maharashtra
Supreme Court (Constitution Bench)
Pending since 1986
A long-pending Constitution Bench case; delays affect hundreds of connected matters that rely on these constitutional interpretations.
Surcharge on sales tax (7-judge bench)
Supreme Court (Constitution Bench)
Pending since 1999
Pending questions on tax law interpretation keep related disputes unresolved and impact fiscal certainty.
Minority status of Sikhs in Punjab
Supreme Court
Pending since 2010
Continued uncertainty for rights and policy decisions tied to minority status.
Compensation for Bhopal gas tragedy victims
Supreme Court
Pending since 2011
Delays prolong closure and relief for affected communities.
FAQs
Quick answers to the basics behind the numbers.
Sources & Notes
Primary data and official references used for this snapshot.
NJDG District & Taluka Courts dashboardNJDG High Courts dashboardNJDG Supreme Court dashboardDepartment of Justice: National Judicial Data Grid (overview)NDTV: Law Minister reply on judge-population ratio (Dec 2023)Economic Times: India Justice Report 2025 (15 judges per million)Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2825 (Judges strength, 12.12.2024)India Today: Oldest Constitution Bench cases and pendency (Sept 2023)Business Standard: High Court cases pending over 30 years (Aug 2023)
Data Coverage
Courts covered18,735
Judges data as of12-12-2024
This page is a static snapshot and should be refreshed with the latest official figures.