Delhi courts crumble under mounting caseload
NEW DELHI: Suresh Kumar, a 59-year-old resident of Rohini, stands in the corridor of a Delhi district court, visibly weary.
'It has been over five years. I am running from post to pillar to seek justice for land illegally occupied by my brother. The court keeps giving me dates, but nothing substantial has happened. At this rate, my property case will be solved after my death.'
His words echo the painful reality faced by lakhs of people trapped in the web of judicial delays. Despite having one of the strongest legal infrastructures in the country, Delhi's courts are buried under a backlog of cases. As of January 1, 2025, more than 14 lakh cases were pending in the capital's district courts.
Years without progress
One in every five of these cases has been awaiting resolution for over five years, and around two per cent have been pending for more than a decade. Each case number is a real person like Suresh—waiting, hoping, and slowly losing faith in the system.This is not an overnight crisis. It has been building steadily. In 2017, each district judge in Delhi handled an average of 1,551 cases. By 2024, this number rose to 2,023 cases per judge. While still below the national average of 2,200, the burden remains overwhelming.
Low clearance rate
Delhi's Case Clearance Rate (CCR)—a measure of how many cases are disposed of against how many are filed—was 78 per cent in 2024, among the lowest in India.
Only once in the past eight years, in 2023, did Delhi courts manage a 100 per cent CCR.
The India Justice Report 2025, published by Tata Trusts and several legal advocacy groups, presented a grim scenario. Despite Delhi having one of the lowest judicial vacancy rates (11 per cent) and the highest representation of women judges (45 per cent), the courts are still struggling to clear the growing pile of unresolved matters. The consequences are more than inconvenient—they are a direct threat to liberty. 91 per cent of Delhi's prison population consists of undertrials—people who have not yet been convicted. Thousands remain in jail for months or even years because their cases have not moved forward. This is a serious violation of the right to a speedy trial, a basic tenet of justice.
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