Judicial Vacancies and Case Pendency in India

Judiciary Vacancies and Case Pendency in India

1. Judicial Vacancies:

   • Total vacant posts of judges in district courts: 4,855.
   • Total vacancies in various High Courts: 297.
   • Uttar Pradesh has the highest vacancies with 1,055 positions unfilled in the lower judiciary, followed by 535 in Gujarat and 384 in Madhya Pradesh.
   • In the Allahabad High Court, there are 60 vacancies with 11,66,971 pending cases, the highest among all High Courts in India.

2. Pending Cases:

   • Total pending cases in lower courts across India: approximately 4.80 crore (48 million).
   • Pending cases in the Supreme Court as of December 1, 2025: 90,694, compared to 70,239 pending cases in 2021.
   • Uttar Pradesh has the highest pending cases in lower courts, totaling 1,13,05,841 (11.3 million).

3. Judicial Administration:

   • Responsibility for filling vacancies in district and subordinate courts lies with the High Courts and State governments.
   • Supreme Court and High Court vacancies are filled continuously through collaboration between the executive and judiciary.

4. Government Initiatives & Policies:

   • No specific schemes or policies mentioned regarding the resolution of vacancies or case pendency.
   • Continued efforts are implied to address these issues, although specific targets or timelines were not provided by the Law Minister.

5. Key Data Indicators:

   • Vacancy and pendency data reflect significant challenges within the Indian judicial system, impacting access to justice.
   • The data points on the number of judicial vacancies and pending cases signify areas requiring urgent judicial reform and administrative reform.

Overall, the information underscores a pressing issue within India's judicial infrastructure, necessitating focused legislative and administrative action to enhance the efficacy of the legal system and reduce the backlog of cases.