4.73 Crore Cases, 18.60% Vacancies: As Next CJI, Justice Surya Kant Must Focus on the Lower Courts
Justice Surya Kant will take over as the 53rd Chief Justice of India next month.
While every incoming CJI makes bold, and in some cases not-so-bold, announcements about what they intend to achieve during their tenure, here’s something that Justice Surya Kant may include in his to-do list once he becomes CJI – tackle vacancies in the lower judiciary.
With pendency of cases in lower judiciary mounting with each passing day, filling the vacant posts could go a long way in dealing with this crisis. The lower judiciary, we all know, is the linchpin is the nation’s justice delivery system.
While the issue of vacancies in the higher judiciary – the Supreme Court and the high courts – is often highlighted and has also found mention in speeches of successive CJIs, very few, if any, have dwelt on the more serious issue of the huge number of vacancies in lower courts.
This is not to suggest that the vacancy situation in high courts is much better. As on October 1, 2025, out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,122, the high courts were functioning with 829 judges, leaving 293 – or over 26% posts vacant.
Government data accessed by this reporter from here shows that there are currently a whopping 4,827 vacant posts at various levels in the lower judiciary.
These include 2,320 civil judge (junior division), 787 civil judge (senior division) and 1,720 district judges. Since the total sanctioned strength of lower judiciary in all states and Union Territories is 25,875, the vacancies amount to roughly 18.60% of the sanctioned strength.
Vacancy in subordinate judiciary as percentages of the total strength. Photo: bhuvan-nyayavikas.nrsc.gov.in
According to the data, the country’s biggest state, Uttar Pradesh, also has the largest number of vacancies in lower judiciary – 21.8%. It is followed by Gujarat (11.1%), Madhya Pradesh (7.9%) and Bihar (7.3%).
In Uttar Pradesh, almost 30% posts of district judge are vacant, while the figure for Gujarat is 15%.
While it can be argued that the CJI or the Supreme Court has little role to play in appointments in lower judiciary, the CJI can most certainly push the envelope since the selection process for lower court judges at the entry level in many states has been taken over by the high courts.
The next CJI can also call the long-delayed Chief Ministers and Chief Justices Conference, last held in 2022, to find a solution to this problem, especially since the state government will have an important role to play in the solution-finding. One key resolution passed at the 2022 Chief Ministers and Chief Justices Conference was expediting the appointment of judges and tackling pendency.
As of yesterday, data on the National Judicial Data Grid shows that there are 4,73,62,460 cases pending in various subordinate courts across India, with 2,92,97,668 cases or almost 62% cases pending for over one year.
While the numbers may be lower, considering the scope of cases that land up before the high courts and the Supreme Court, the pendency in these Constitutional courts must also be top priority for the incoming CJI. As per latest data accessed by this reporter, there are 90,193 cases pending in the Supreme Court, almost 60% of them pending for more than one year.
The situation is even worse when it comes to high courts. A total of 63,67,398 cases are pending in various high courts, over 71% of them pending for over one year.
An interesting aspect that differentiates pendency in higher courts from the subordinate judiciary is that while a vast majority of cases pending in the Supreme Court and the high courts are civil disputes, in the case of subordinate courts, the majority of cases are criminal cases.
“The huge pendency of cases before the district courts is a pressing issue affecting the administration of justice. One hopes the incoming CJI takes measures to mitigate the issue. As someone who understands the issues being faced by the common litigants, he can be expected to take the necessary steps. His initiative to encourage mediation is a notable measure. To my mind, Justice Surya Kant is the best person to deal with this crisis,” said senior advocate N.S. Boparai.
This article went live on October twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty five, at twenty-one minutes past nine in the morning.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
