The Punjab and Haryana High Court will reopen on Wednesday after month-long summer vacation with 4,22,951 pending cases. While the overall pendency has remained largely stable over the past six months, the age of the backlog remains a major concern, with nearly 1.25 lakh cases (about 30 per cent of the total) pending for more than a decade.
According to the latest National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) data, the HC has 2,56,774 civil and 1,66,177 criminal cases pending. The figures are significant as the court is functioning with only 55 judges against a sanctioned strength of 85.
The data shows that 1,24,855 cases have remained pending for over 10 years, including 74,049 civil and 50,806 criminal matters. Another 1,00,127 cases have been awaiting adjudication for five to 10 years.
Overall, 3,30,219 cases, or 78.08 per cent of the pending docket, are more than a year old.
Despite the shortage of judges, the HC has broadly kept pace with fresh filings during the first half of the year. Between January and the summer recess, 79,660 fresh cases were instituted while 81,689 were disposed of, enabling the court to marginally outpace fresh institutions.
In the month preceding the summer vacation, however, 19,936 fresh cases were instituted against 19,445 disposals, resulting in a slight increase in pendency. Such month-to-month fluctuations are routine and depend on the balance between fresh institutions and disposals.
The HC is also awaiting reinforcement. The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the elevation of 10 advocates as judges of the HC, while recommendations for more appointments are under consideration. Even then, vacancies are expected to remain a concern, with three sitting judges due to retire later this year.
As the HC begins the second half of the year, the figures indicate that while it has largely matched fresh filings despite a depleted Bench, the key challenge will be to steadily reduce the nearly 1.25 lakh cases that have remained pending for more than a decade.
