Judiciary Snapshot — 2026-05-15
The ticking clock of pending cases
A clear, citizen-first view of case pendency and why it keeps rising. 55343546 cases pending across all courts.
Key Takeaways
- India's courts have 55343546 pending cases across all levels — District Courts alone account for the majority of the backlog.
- The clearance rate (cases disposed ÷ cases instituted) remains below 100%, meaning the backlog grows each month — only a structural increase in judges and courts can reverse this trend.
- Over a quarter of High Court cases are older than 10 years, highlighting that delay is systemic, not incidental.
Total Pendency
55343546
All courts combined
District Courts
48847050
District & subordinate courts
High Courts
6402928
All High Courts
Supreme Court
93568
Supreme Court of India
Snapshot values are taken from NJDG dashboards on 2026-05-15; judge strength figures use Department of Justice vacancy data and the live Supreme Court roster as of 10 May 2026, alongside the India Justice Report 2025 baseline (January 2025) for District & Subordinate Courts.
Courts & Judges
Judges data as of 10 May 2026
Courts count: District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts covered on NJDG.
Courts Covered
18,735
NJDG coverage
Judges Sanctioned
26,927
All courts
Judges Working
21,284
In position
Vacancies
5,643
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)
22
Based on sanctioned strength and 2011 census.
Judges per Million (IJR)
15
India Justice Report 2025 estimate.
Supreme Court
Sanctioned34
Working32
Vacant2
High Courts
Sanctioned1,122
Working796
Vacant326
District & Subordinate Courts
Sanctioned25,771
Working20,456
Vacant5,315
Last Month Case Flow (All Courts)
All Courts
Instituted1885575
Disposed1397106
Clearance rate74.1%
District & Subordinate Courts16,40,787 / 11,62,672
High Courts2,37,532 / 2,26,525
Supreme Court7,256 / 7,909
Dark bars show instituted cases; green bars show disposed cases for the last month.
Age of Pending Cases (High Courts)
0-1 year1536929 · 24%
1-3 years1244827 · 19%
3-5 years733201 · 11%
5-10 years1361520 · 21%
10+ years1526451 · 24%
A quarter of High Court cases are older than 10 years.
Civil vs Criminal Mix
All Courts
55343546
Civil
15688778
Criminal
39654768
Civil share vs criminal share of total pending.
District & Subordinate Courts48847050
Civil: 11134021Criminal: 37713029
High Courts6402928
Civil: 4481927Criminal: 1921001
Supreme Court93568
Civil: 72830Criminal: 20738
District Disposals: Contested vs Uncontested
Disposals last month11,62,672
Contested28%
Contested28%
369869
Civil73056
Criminal296813
Uncontested72%
930072
Civil230535
Criminal699537
Contested cases form a smaller share of disposals but tend to consume more hearing time.
Where Pendency Sits
District & Subordinate Courts
88.26 of total
48847050
High Courts
11.57 of total
6402928
Supreme Court
0.17 of total
93568
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Source materialShowing 10 of 14
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)Supreme Court Observer: Cabinet clears Bill to expand SC strength to 38 judges (May 2026)SCC Online: Union Cabinet approves Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 (6 May 2026)Department of Justice: Vacancy Position