Pendency declines as Punjab and Haryana High Court battles shortage of judges

Even as the Punjab and Haryana High Court continues to grapple with a gaping judicial deficit—51 judges against a sanctioned strength of 85—it has managed a consistent month-on-month decline in pendency by an average of 365 cases, following a concerted push to cut delays and restore public faith in the system.

From a backlog of 4,32,227 cases in January this year, the total pendency has dipped to 4,30,412—marking a steady, determined effort to clear the decades-old burden of cases. Second appeals—often bogged down by voluminous records—have fallen from 48,386 to 47,633.

Civil matters, long known for procedural complexity, have come down from 2,68,279 to 2,62,054. The proportion of civil and criminal cases pending for over a year has dipped from nearly 85 per cent in January to 79.74 per cent.

The National Judicial Data Grid reinforces this downward trend. Cases pending for one to three years have reduced from 76,433 (18 per cent) to 69,644 (16 per cent). Matters pending for three to five years have dropped from 34,653 (8 per cent) to 31,975 (7 per cent). Those pending for five to 10 years have declined from 1,29,122 (30 per cent) to 1,21,712 (28 per cent). The count of cases languishing for over a decade has shrunk from 1,26,854 (29 per cent) to 1,19,885 (28 per cent).

This progress, though incremental, stands out in a system weighed down by a near-40 per cent shortage of judges. Available information suggests Chief Justice Sheel Nagu has strategically prioritised matters that demand urgent attention—cases up to the year 2000, matters involving senior citizens, women, differently-abled persons, juveniles, marginalised sections, corruption cases, Supreme Court remands, and lower court stay matters.

A meticulous listing policy has ensured that cases up to 1994 find a place in the urgent motion cause list, while those from 1995 to 1999 linked to older matters are similarly pushed up the queue—an approach aimed at breaking the logjam of legacy litigation.

Judges have also been disposing of matters at a brisk pace, with several Benches continuing to hear cases well into the late hours. Benches handling criminal bail petitions involving life and liberty have also been sitting at 9 am since May 19, ahead of the summer break starting on Friday. Chief Justice Nagu himself has been holding court half an hour earlier at 9.30 am to hear urgent matters, signalling a hands-on approach to easing the backlog.

As the court moves into a restricted summer schedule, the first quarter of 2024 tells a story of quiet but determined progress—where the old norm of ‘tareek pe tareek’ is giving way to a future where pendency may no longer be the rule, but the exception.