Court cases pending for 40 years gives rise to the common question – Are all the contestants alive? If so, how many are still willing or fit enough, be it physically, mentally or financially, to contest the dispute, that to with same vigour, temperament and steam, when the case was filed in court. Also, how many are alive to benefit of the judgement, if it goes in their favour? This not so ordinary delay, as revealed in official records, lends credence to the saying ‘Justice delayed is Justice denied’.
A whopping 23,599 cases, including 20,093 civil cases and 3,506 criminal cases were pending for more than 40 years before 14 High Courts as on March 28, 2025.
In Supreme Court, as per information available on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), 03 civil cases and 0 criminal cases were pending for more than 40 years before the Supreme Court as on April 02, 2025.
Furthermore, a significant 4,638 civil cases and 5,567 criminal cases were pending for more than 40 years before the Subordinate Courts of different states and Union Territories as on March 28, 2025.
High Court-wise, as per data available on NJDG, as on March 28, 2025, Allahabad High Court had the maximum of 15,827 cases pending for over 40 years including 12,368 Civil cases besides 3459 pending cases. Calcutta high had the second highest pendency of 6170 cases including 6127 civil cases and 43 criminal cases.
In the top 10 list of high courts with cases pending over 40 years, Patna high court stood at third position with 1014 such cases, all civil cases followed by Telangana high court having 176 civil cases in the category, Madras high court having 170 such civil cases, Andhra Pradesh high court having 129 such civil cases, Orissa high court having 48 such civil cases, Punjab and Haryana having 34 such cases including 33 civil cases and 1 criminal case, Rajasthan high court having 11 such cases including 8 civil cases and 3 criminal case and Bombay high court having 8 civil cases pending for over 40 years.
Further, Madhya Pradesh high court has 6 civil cases, Gujarat high court has 4 civil cases, Jammu and Kashmir&Ladakh high court and Karnataka high court has 1 civil cases pending for over 40 years.
Pendency of cases for over 40 years in High Courts
| No | High Court | Civil | Criminal | Total |
| 1 | Allahabad | 12368 | 3459 | 15827 |
| 2 | Calcutta | 6127 | 43 | 6170 |
| 3 | Patna | 1014 | 0 | 1014 |
| 4 | Telangana | 176 | 0 | 176 |
| 5 | Madras | 170 | 0 | 170 |
| 6 | Andhra Pradesh | 129 | 0 | 129 |
| 7 | Orissa | 48 | 0 | 48 |
| 8 | Punjab and Haryana | 33 | 1 | 34 |
| 9 | Rajasthan | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 10 | Bombay | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 | Madhya Pradesh | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Gujarat | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 | Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Karnataka | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 20093 | 3506 | 23599 |
