New Delhi, July 17 -- As the Supreme Court of India resumes its regular routine after an annual six-week summer recess that ended on Monday, this is a good moment to look at one of the biggest problems that has dogged the country's legal system: a huge and growing case backlog.

According to the National Judicial Data Grid 2025, the number of pending cases across all three levels of the judiciary is over 56 million, a staggering figure, with over 96,000 cases awaiting disposal at the apex court alone. The pending case list of various high courts exceeds 6.4 million and that of subordinate courts 49.8 million.

Clearly, the saying 'Justice delayed is justice denied' is not just a cliche, but an apt description of the state of India's legal...