The Indian judiciary, entrusted with delivering justice to over 1.4 billion citizens, finds itself at a crossroads. While it is constitutionally tasked with upholding justice, fairness, and rule of law, glaring systemic challenges continue to hinder its ability to perform this role effectively. The recently released India Justice Report (IJR) 2025 serves as a comprehensive and data-backed reality check for the nation’s justice delivery mechanisms.

This report goes beyond anecdotal evidence to bring together hard facts that expose shortfalls in judicial manpower, infrastructure deficits, and inaccessible legal aid systems—thereby making it a vital document for policymakers, judicial administrators, and civil society stakeholders.

Severe Judge-to-Population Imbalance

A core issue underscored in the report is the inadequate judge-to-population ratio. Back in 1987, the Law Commission of India had recommended 50 judges per 10 lakh population to ensure efficient justice delivery.

Fast forward to 2025:

• The actual number of sitting judges, including those in the Supreme Court, is just 21,285.

• This is well below the sanctioned strength of 26,927.

• Using 2025 population estimates, the actual ratio is only 15 judges per 10 lakh population, and even with full sanctioned strength, the ratio would reach only 19, still far from the recommended 50.

Such poor ratios overburden judges, make case hearings sluggish, and increase pendency levels across courts.

District Judiciary Under Pressure

The subordinate or trial courts, where most cases begin, are bearing the brunt of the crisis:

• As of 2025, their sanctioned strength is 25,771 judges.

• The actual number of working judges is only 20,478, giving an average of 15 judges per 10 lakh population.

• Between 2016–17 and 2025, the bench size increased by just 3,224, despite a massive rise in the number of cases.

Vacancy rates continue to remain stubbornly high:

• Subordinate court vacancies have ranged between 21–22% from 2018 to 2025.

• The state of Sikkim saw vacancies rise to 34% in 2025, up from 17% in 2018–19.

Crippling Workload Per Judge

Due to these vacancies and low ratios, individual judges are burdened with a massive workload:

• At the High Court level, barring Sikkim, Tripura, and Meghalaya, judges average over 1,000 cases.

• In the Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh High Courts, the workload per judge is around 15,000 cases.

• In district courts, the average is about 2,200 cases per judge.

Notably:

• Karnataka judges are handling nearly 1,750 cases each.

• Kerala judges face a staggering 3,800 cases per judge.

• Uttar Pradesh judges are dealing with 4,300 cases each.

• Only seven states/UTs maintain workloads below 300 cases per judge.

Infrastructure Shortfall Hampers Functionality

Judicial manpower is just one half of the equation. The court infrastructure necessary to support judicial officers also remains inadequate.

• There are 22,045 court halls available for 20,478 judges as of 2025.

• But if all sanctioned posts were filled, a 15% shortfall would persist.

• Between 2022 and 2025, only 1,031 new court halls were added compared to 1,140 new judge positions sanctioned.

This means that many judges do not have dedicated courtrooms, which delays appointments and affects productivity.

Only ten states/UTs do not face a court hall shortfall. The remaining continue to operate under space constraints, undermining judicial efficiency.

Funding Judicial Infrastructure

The responsibility for infrastructure development lies with state governments, though the Central Government supports through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for infrastructure development.

• Launched in 1993–94, the CSS covers:

  • Court buildings

  • Judicial housing

  • Lawyer halls

  • Digital facilities

  • Toilet and sanitation facilities

• The scheme has been extended to 2025–26 with an outlay of ₹9,000 crore.

• The Centre’s share is ₹5,307 crore.

While the scheme has certainly helped, implementation varies significantly across states, leading to uneven development of infrastructure.

High Court Staff Vacancies a Persistent Issue

While much attention is given to judge shortages, staff shortages in High Courts are just as detrimental.

According to the IJR 2025:

• Average staff vacancy across High Courts is around 25%.

• In 13 High Courts, the vacancy rates range from 20% to just under 50%.

Without adequate support staff, judges cannot function efficiently, which adds to case backlogs and delays. These roles include:

• Clerks

• Typists

• Translators

• Bench assistants

Lack of these roles means more administrative burden on judges and delays in court proceedings.

Legal Aid in Dire State Despite Broad Eligibility

Access to justice is a constitutional right, but due to high litigation costs, free legal aid remains essential for many.

However:

• Over 80% of Indians qualify for free legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

• Yet, per capita legal aid spending is just ₹6.

• There has been a 38% drop in paralegal volunteers since 2019.

Although legal aid budgets have increased between 2017 and 2023, it is largely state-led, and still grossly insufficient for a country of India's size and population.

This leaves millions of people unable to access quality legal representation, violating the very principle of equal justice.

Hope in Some Improvements

Despite the grim statistics, the India Justice Report 2025 also notes a few silver linings:

• Judicial per capita expenditure has improved in several states.

• Some states have reduced vacancy rates in subordinate courts.

• Case clearance rates have improved even under high workloads.

These improvements show that targeted interventions can yield results. However, without systemic reform, large-scale infrastructure investments, and enhanced manpower recruitment, these gains may not be sustainable.

Conclusion: A Call for Urgent Reforms

The India Justice Report 2025 paints a troubling yet honest picture of the challenges facing India’s judiciary. From manpower shortages and infrastructure gaps to ineffective legal aid delivery, the findings are a wake-up call for policymakers.

For true judicial reform, India must:

• Meet sanctioned judge strengths

• Reduce staff vacancies

• Invest heavily in infrastructure

• Expand legal aid budgets

Only then can the vision of timely, accessible, and fair justice for all become a reality.

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