There were 59,87,477 cases pending in High Courts across the country and 69,511 cases pending in the Supreme Court as on February 1, the Centre told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju made the statement in response to a question by Telugu Desam Party MP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar.
Out of the 59,87,477 cases pending in High Courts, the highest number (10,30,185) was in the Allahabad High Court, followed by Rajasthan (6,40,267) and Bombay (6,20,586). The Sikkim High Court had the fewest (171) pending cases as on February 1.
Over 4.34 crore cases were pending in district and subordinate courts as on December 31, 2022, reported PTI.
In a separate reply, Rijiju had said on February 2 that 81 cases in Supreme Court, 1,24,810 cases in the High Courts, and 2,76,208 cases in the district and subordinate courts have been pending for over 25 years.
The law minister had shared the information in response to a question by Janata Dal (United) MP Ram Nath Thakur.
Rijiju had said that there are several reasons for the large pendency of cases in the courts, including the availability of judges and judicial officers, supporting court staff and physical
infrastructure.
He also listed frequent adjournments, the lack of monitoring mechanisms and complexity of cases among the reasons for cases remaining pending for long durations.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!