India’s Judicial Crisis: A Democratic Failure in Urgent Need of Reform

If there is one pillar of our democracy that needs immediate and sweeping reform—more than the legislature or the executive—it is the judiciary. The current state of India’s justice system is nothing short of a national embarrassment.

Today, over 53 million cases remain pending across courts in India—a number larger than the entire population of South Korea. This is not merely inefficiency; it is a silent crime unfolding every single day. At the current pace of case disposal, it would take an estimated 323 years to clear the existing backlog. What kind of democracy allows justice to be delayed for centuries?

India has only 20 judges per million citizens, compared to 150 judges per million in the United States. And even with such a low ratio, the judiciary remains crippled by vacancies. Nearly 32% of High Court judges’ posts are vacant, while 20% of all judicial seats across the country remain unfilled. This shortage directly translates to delayed justice, weakened public trust, and a systemic collapse of accountability.

Add to this the persistent issues of nepotism and the opaque collegium system, where judges appoint judges without any democratic oversight. Transparency is minimal, accountability is negligible, and reform is resisted at every stage.

One of the most startling examples comes from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where reports indicate that 32% of individuals working in the institution—judges, lawyers, clerks, staff—are related to one another. Such concentrated familial influence within a judicial institution speaks to a deeper malaise that undermines meritocracy and public confidence.

India’s judiciary, once regarded as a pillar of integrity, is now strained by backlog, secrecy, nepotism, and chronic under-staffing. True democratic reform must begin here—with an overhaul of judicial appointments, expansion of judge strength, investment in court infrastructure, and transparency in decision-making.

Until then, justice in India will remain a distant promise—delayed, denied, and dangerously compromised.