The Punjab and Haryana High Court will reopen on Wednesday after its month-long summer vacation with 4,22,951 pending cases. While the overall pendency has remained almost unchanged over the past six months, the bigger concern is the age of the backlog, with nearly 1.25 lakh cases — about 30 per cent of the total — pending for more than a decade.
The latest National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) data shows that the high court’s pending docket comprises 2,56,774 civil and 1,66,177 criminal cases. The figures assume significance as the high court is functioning against all odds with just 55 judges against a sanctioned strength of 85.
The data shows that 1,24,855 cases have remained pending for more than 10 years, including 74,049 civil and 50,806 criminal matters. Another 1,00,127 cases have been awaiting adjudication for between five and 10 years.
Overall, 3,30,219 cases, or 78.08 per cent of the pending docket, are more than a year old. Even with the shortage of judges, the high court has broadly kept pace with fresh filings during the first half of the calendar year. Between January and the summer recess, 79,660 fresh cases were instituted, while 81,689 cases were disposed of, enabling the court to marginally outpace fresh institutions.
The latest monthly figures, however, show that in the month preceding the summer vacation, 19,936 fresh cases were instituted against 19,445 disposals, resulting in a marginal increase in pending cases. Such month-to-month variations are a routine feature of court statistics, with the pendency rising or falling depending on the balance between fresh institutions and disposals.
The figures also come at a time when the high court awaits reinforcement of its Bench. The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the elevation of 10 advocates as judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while recommendations for the appointment of more judges are also awaiting consideration. Even then, the vacancy position is expected to remain a concern, with three sitting judges due to retire later this year on attaining the age of superannuation.
The data also reflects the high court’s sustained administrative focus on reducing old pendency. Priority has been accorded to long-pending matters, cases involving senior citizens, women, juveniles and differently-abled persons, corruption cases, matters remanded by the Supreme Court, and cases in which proceedings before subordinate courts have remained stayed.
A structured listing policy has ensured that old matters are regularly taken up, while connected cases are also being prioritised to facilitate their early disposal. Judges have, on several occasions, continued hearings beyond normal court hours in an effort to improve disposals and reduce the backlog.
The combined effect, court insiders say, is visible on the ground. “What earlier took years is now often decided in one or two effective hearings,” a senior functionary remarked, adding that judges are “more conscious of disposal than ever before,” with all-time highs being registered by several Benches.
As the high court begins the second half of the year, the figures suggest that while it has largely kept pace with fresh institutions despite a depleted Bench, the real challenge will be to steadily reduce the large stock of long-pending cases, particularly the nearly 1.25 lakh matters that have remained on its docket for more than a decade.
