Over 71,000 cases were pending in various High Courts across the country for more than 30 years, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday, July 28. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal stated that over 1.01 lakh cases — more than 30-year-old — were pending in lower courts as well. As on July 24 this year, 71,204 cases were pending in High Courts for more than 30 years while 1,01,837 cases were pending for over 30 years in district and subordinate courts, he said. On July 20, Meghwal had informed the Rajya Sabha that pendency of cases in various courts across India had crossed the five-crore mark.
Over 5.02 crore cases were pending in the Supreme Court, the 25 High Courts and subordinate courts, the minister had said in a written reply.
“As per data retrieved from the Integrated Case Management System (ICMIS) by the Supreme Court of India, as on July 1, there are 69,766 cases pending in the Supreme Court. Total number of cases pending in High Courts and the district and subordinate courts as on July 14 are 60,62,953 and 4,41,35,357 respectively, as per information made available on National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG),” Meghwal had stated. The pendency of cases in courts could be attributed to several factors, including non-availability of adequate number of judges and judicial officers.