GS Paper 2: Polity & Governance
Overview:
The Supreme Court of India is currently facing an unprecedented case backlog of 88,417 cases, even though it operates at full judge strength and has undertaken several measures to improve case disposal rates.
Current Statistics:
- Total pending cases: 88,417
- Civil cases: 69,553
- Criminal cases: 18,864
- August 2025: 7,080 new cases were filed, while 5,667 were disposed of.
- Pendency has shown a consistent upward trend since the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sharp rise observed from 2023 onwards.
Recent Developments and Measures:
- The Chief Justice of India (CJI) redesignated the traditional summer break as “partial working days” to help clear the mounting backlog.
- In 2025, the Court registered 52,630 new filings and disposed of 46,309 cases, reflecting an 88% disposal rate.
- Successive CJIs have focused on ensuring minimal judicial vacancies, recognizing that maintaining full strength is vital to improving disposal rates.
- A collegium resolution (November 2023) underscored the necessity of a full complement of judges to handle the “ever-increasing pendency” of cases.
- The Union Government has also expedited approval of collegium recommendations for judicial appointments to ensure the Supreme Court operates without vacancies.