Lucknow, July 30 -- The absence of lawyers is the single biggest reason behind delays in case disposal in Uttar Pradesh's subordinate courts, which collectively grapple with a pendency of more than 1.19 crore litigations, nearly one-fourth of the country's judicial backlog.

The latest National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) data reveals that in around 27.01 lakh pending cases (civil and criminal combined), hearings could not proceed because counsel was unavailable, making it the largest identifiable cause of judicial delay in the state.

"No doubt, the non-appearance of lawyers during case hearings due to reasons like frequent strikes by them, is the biggest reason for judicial delays in subordinate courts in the state," principal secretary (...