The total number of vacant posts of judges in district courts across India is 4,855 and around 4.80 crore cases are pending in lower courts across the country, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (December 4, 2025). He said there were 297 vacancies in various High Courts.
Sharing pending cases in the Supreme Court in the last five years, Mr. Meghwal, in a written reply, informed that 90,694 cases were under trial in the apex court as of December 1, 2025 . The pendency was 70,239 in 2021.
One judge for 18.7 lakh people: vacancy, pendency crises plague High Courts
Responding to a question by member from Punjab, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, who had asked for vacancies in various courts across India and the timeline by when the government was planning to fill vacant positions of judges in various courts, the Minister said filling of vacant positions of judges in district and subordinate courts was the responsibility of the High Courts and the State governments. For the Supreme Court and High Courts, vacancies were being filled continuously in collaboration of the executive and judiciary.
Uttar Pradesh tops
