Supreme Court backlog hits record high: 83,000 pending cases, highest in a decade

The Supreme Court of India is currently grappling with an unprecedented backlog of 82,831 pending cases, the highest number recorded to date. This surge includes 27,604 cases filed within the past year alone, highlighting a significant rise in judicial workload.

A detailed report by the Times of India reveals that in 2024, the Supreme Court registered 38,995 new cases. Of these, 37,158 cases were resolved, yet the backlog persists. Over the past decade, the number of pending cases in the Supreme Court has surged eightfold, with notable reductions only in the years 2015 and 2017.

The situation is similarly dire in the High Courts, where pending cases have escalated from 4.1 million in 2014 to 5.9 million currently. Despite numerous efforts to address the backlog, the number of pending cases in High Courts has only decreased once over the last decade. In trial courts, the backlog has grown from 26 million cases in 2014 to 45 million now, although the introduction of a paperless system has contributed to a reduction in some cases.

In 2013, the Supreme Court’s backlog increased from 50,000 to 66,000 cases. However, during the tenure of Chief Justices P. Sathasivam and R.M. Lodha in 2014, this number decreased to 63,000, and further dropped to 59,000 the following year. The introduction of a paperless court system by Justice J.S. Khehar in 2017 initially reduced the number of pending cases to 56,000. Unfortunately, this progress was reversed in 2018, when the number of pending cases increased to 57,000.

Despite increasing the number of judges twice, the backlog remained unmanageable. In 2009, the Supreme Court’s judge count was raised from 26 to 31. However, this did not alleviate the backlog. In 2019, during Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s tenure, the number of judges was further increased to 34, yet the pending cases surged from 57,000 to 60,000.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation, impacting the Supreme Court’s operations. Under Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, the number of pending cases rose to 65,000 in 2020. The pandemic’s effects continued into 2021, pushing the backlog to 70,000 cases. By the end of 2022, the number of pending cases had reached a staggering 79,000. During this period, Chief Justices N.V. Ramana and U.U. Lalit retired in the same year, and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud took over as Chief Justice.