Parliament Question: Pendency of Cases in Mumbai Courts

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3281 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 07th AUGUST, 2026 PENDENCY OF CASES IN MUMBAI COURTS

3281. SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of the pendency of civil, criminal and commercial cases in courts functioning in Mumbai during the last three years, particularly in view of the city's importance as the financial and commercial capital of the country;

(b) the details of financial assistance, infrastructure projects and technological initiatives undertaken by the Central Government for strengthening judicial infrastructure, the construction of court complexes, the establishment of additional courts and the implementation of e-Courts projects in Mumbai;

(c) whether the Government has identified shortages of judicial officers, courtrooms, digital infrastructure and support staff affecting the timely disposal of cases in Mumbai, if so, the details of action taken/proposed to be taken in this regard; and

(d) the measures taken or proposed to reduce pendency, strengthen judicial infrastructure, expand digital court services and improve access to speedy and affordable justice for litigants in Mumbai? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a): The details of pendency of civil, criminal and commercial cases in courts functioning in Mumbai during the last three years are at Annexure.

(b): The primary responsibility for development of infrastructure facilities for District and Subordinate Courts rests with the State Governments/UTs. However, to augment the resources of States/UTs, Central Government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme

(CSS) for the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in the District and 1Subordinate Courts since 1993-94, by providing financial assistance in the prescribed fund sharing pattern between the Centre and States/UTs. Financial assistance of Rs. 1127.89 cr has been released to the State of Maharashtra under the scheme since its inception. In the current financial year, a tentative allocation of Rs. 27.05 cr has been made for the State of Maharashtra, out of which Mother Sanction for an amount of Rs. 13.525 cr has been issued.

The High Court of Bombay and all working courts in Mumbai have been equipped with the necessary ICT infrastructure as provisioned under the eCourts Project. Further, 13 eSewa Kendras have been established in Mumbai City and equipped with essential infrastructure. An amount of Rs. 104.32 crore has been released to the High Court of Bombay under the eCourts Project in the FY 2025-26. The High Court of Bombay has also established 6 Online Courts and 6 Paperless Courts which are equipped with the necessary ICT infrastructure to facilitate efficient paperless and digital court proceedings.

(c) & (d): The Government of Maharashtra vide letter 07.02.2025 sanctioned 2863 new posts of Judicial Officers for State of Maharashtra taking the sanctioned strength to 5247.

Disposal of cases pending in various courts lies within the domain of the Judiciary.

Disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia, include availability of adequate number of Judges and Judicial officers, supporting court staff, physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, quality of investigation, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz bar, investigation agencies, witnesses, litigants. However, the Government is fully committed for speedy disposal of cases and reducing pendency. The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary which, inter-alia, involves timely appointment of Judges, better infrastructure for courts including computerization, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, promoting Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, enactment and implementation of New Criminal Laws 2023, establishment of Fast Track Special Courts, re-engineering of court procedure and emphasis on human resource development.

In addition, the State Courts Management System (SCMS) Committee of Hon'ble Bombay High Court has been preparing Action Plan on yearly basis since November 2017 for speedy disposal of old cases pending before Courts of District Judiciary. This Action Plan aims to dispose of old cases in speedy manner. The said Action Plan also focus on fixed timelines for disposal of cases and holding regular meetings with Advocates, Bar Association, Senior police officers/Pubic Prosecutors, Senior Nodal Officer from Revenue Department for quick disposal of old cases.

Further, in order to provide legal assistance and representation in courts to marginalized and disadvantaged sections of society, 845 advocates from the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa have been registered as Pro Bono lawyers under the Nyaya Bandhu Programme, as on

31.07.2026. ***** 2ANNEXURE STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3281 FOR ANSWER ON 07.08.2026 REGARDING ‘PENDENCY OF CASES IN MUMBAI COURTS’ Pendency of Civil, Criminal and Commercial Cases in Mumbai during last three years 2023 2024 2025 2026 (as on 04.08.2026) Sr District Civil Criminal Commercial Civil Criminal Commercial Civil Criminal Commercial Civil Criminal Commercial No.

1 Mumbai City 10491 6082 535 17310 7046 1626 17773 9288 1157 12793 7643 686 Civil Court 2 Mumbai CMM 0 63997 0 0 95140 0 0 109444 0 0 94338 0 Courts 3 Mumbai Motor 943 0 0 1405 0 0 2157 0 0 1504 0 0 Accident Claims T 4 Mumbai Small 2018 0 0 2586 0 0 3367 0 0 3149 0 0 Causes Court Total 13452 70079 535 21301 102186 1626 23297 118732 1157 17446 101981 686

Source: National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) 3