Priyanka Tiwari
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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : Fairness and respect towards the constitution always require the Indian judiciary system, however, as highlighted by the India Justice Report (IJR) 2025, it has been grappling with aging issues in infrastructure, legal assistance, skilled manpower, and backlogged cases. This report also maps the areas which need immediate changes if they hope to fix the rest in the future.
Judge to Population ratio: falls under recommended standards.
As of 2025, a sum of seated judges is estimated to be (2025): 21285, sanctioned: 26,927, ratio of actual judges stands- 15 per a whopping 10 lakh of based on empty 2025- projections. Even with the full estimate number of theatricals, they will still be among the lowest counting memorized at 19 per 10 lakh over estimated population of judges.
Mark that Law Commition forced recommending-50 judges per a 10 Lakh population.
District and High Court Vacancies: A Dedicated Problem
Judges of Subordinate Courts: 25,771 approved but 20,478 really fill positions
The number won’t drop below twenty and pass twenty one per cent since eighteen shown above of those droids.
The mean shortage of these citizens will be around twenty-five along most affected districts of Sikkim marching with losing forty percent over emerged seventeen posists previously for risen quarter five ten eighteen per mark to two decade five.
These reductions stage efficiency directly affecting clearance rate multiplying with current scooping down at three quarters across court cycles and no filtering funnel while startling with tuning session delays.
Heavy Judicial Workload: Mounting Caseloads per Judge
{Judges in High Courts (Sikkim, Tripura, and Meghalaya): } Sikkim, Tripura, and Meghalaya: 1,000+ cases
Cases per judge in Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh High Courts: 15,000-
Over 2000 cases per judge in district courts: 2,200
Uttar Pradesh 4,300 (highest)
Kerala 3,800
Karnataka 1,750
Only 7 states/UTs managed to contain the workload under 300 cases per judge.
Court Infrastructure: Lagging Behind Growth
Infrastructure limitations directly constrain judicial capacity.
Projected figures as of 2025:
Court halls available: 22,045
Sitting judges 20,478
Full Strength filled, (25,771): Shortfall remains 15%
Sanctioned positions rose 1,140 (2022-2025)
Court halls increase: Only 1,031
Most states continue to report lack of sufficient court halls, hindering judicial appointments and functioning.
Funding Gaps: Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)
CSS for infrastructure (1993-94 onward) until 2025-26
Total outlay: ₹9,000 crore
Centre's share: ₹5,307 crore
Judicial buildings, housing, lawyers’ halls, computer rooms and sanitation facilities put up.
However, the pace of infrastructure expansion still lags behind the judiciary’s growing needs.
Legal Aid: Ignored and Underfinanced
Expenditure per person: Only ₹6
There has been a 38% decline in the number of volunteer paralegals since 2019.
80% of the citizens qualify within the scope of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
While there is an increase in budgets, the current anticipatory funding is overflowing in deficits to meet the swelling demand.
If justice is served best, in this case, the funding disparity represented should be illustrating the comparatively quieter life working in the shadow of the white-collared.
