nicholasdecker.substack.com/p/whats-the-matter-with-india
1 correction found
Since then the number of pending cases has doubled.
The backlog had risen substantially by 2025, but not doubled. Official 2018 data put total pending cases at about 34.7 million, so a doubling would require roughly 69.4 million—not the roughly 50+ million reported in 2025.
Full reasoning
The article says India's pending cases had doubled since the 2018 estimate.
But the government's own 2018 Economic Survey lists the backlog then as:
- District & subordinate courts: 3,03,95,534
- High Courts: 42,39,966
- Supreme Court: 56,320
That totals 3,46,91,820 pending cases (about 34.7 million).
A true doubling from that baseline would be about 69.4 million pending cases.
By March 18, 2025, a Lok Sabha answer citing the National Judicial Data Grid said there were "over 5 crore pending cases" across courts/tribunals in India. That is a very serious increase, but it is not a doubling of the 2018 total.
So the accurate statement would be that pendency rose sharply after 2018, not that it doubled.
2 sources
- Economic Survey 2018-19, Government of India
Table 3 lists backlog of cases as: D&S courts 3,03,95,534; High Courts 42,39,966; Supreme Court 56,320.
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3569, Government of India
According to data from the National Judicial Data Grid indicates that there are over 5 crore pending cases across different Courts/Tribunals in the country. Court wise pending cases as on March 18, 2025 ...