Why Indian Courts Are Slow, and What It Costs

The scale of pending cases in Indian courts, how slow justice affects contracts, investment and ordinary people, and the reforms aimed at speeding things up.

Indian courts face an enormous backlog. According to the National Judicial Data Grid, more than 5 crore cases are pending across India’s courts, some for decades.

Why courts are slow

Too few judges: India has far fewer judges per million people than many countries, and many posts are vacant.
Adjournments: cases are frequently postponed.
Procedural complexity and multiple levels of appeal.
Government litigation: the government is one of the largest litigants.
Infrastructure shortages in lower courts.
Cheque bounce and other high-volume cases.

Economic costs

Contract enforcement: if resolving a business dispute takes years, contracts become less reliable. Businesses may:

Deal only with people they know, limiting growth.
Demand advance payments or collateral.
Avoid investing in sectors that depend on enforceable contracts.

The World Bank’s former Doing Business reports ranked India low on enforcing contracts, with disputes taking years to resolve.

Other costs:

Undertrial prisoners: many people in jail haven’t been convicted and await trial.
Stuck assets: property and business disputes lock up land and capital.
Access to justice: the poor may give up on seeking justice.

Reforms

Commercial Courts Act, 2015: special courts and timelines for commercial disputes.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: time-bound resolution of business failures.
Lok Adalats: people’s courts that settle many cases by agreement.
Mediation Act, 2023: promoting mediation before litigation.
E-courts: digitising records, virtual hearings and online case tracking.
Filling vacancies and expanding court capacity.

The economics of faster justice

Research suggests that faster courts can increase credit, investment and firm growth, because contracts and property rights become more secure.

The stuck contract

A small manufacturer supplies goods worth 20 lakh rupees to a buyer who refuses to pay. The case in civil court drags on for seven years. By the time it's resolved, the manufacturer has struggled with cash shortages and stopped supplying new customers on credit.

Thinking court delays only affect people in legal disputes

Slow justice weakens contracts and property rights across the economy, affecting credit and investment.

Key takeaways

More than 5 crore cases are pending in Indian courts.
Too few judges, adjournments and government litigation cause delays.
Slow contract enforcement discourages credit and investment.
Commercial courts, mediation, Lok Adalats and e-courts aim to speed justice.