Causes include: Judicial vacancies (over 25% in High Courts), inadequate judicial infrastructure, frequent adjournments, complex procedural laws, increasing number of cases, and insufficient judge-to-population ratio.

Consequences involve: Denial of timely justice, erosion of public trust in the judiciary, economic costs due to delayed dispute resolution, violation of human rights (e.g., prolonged undertrial detention), and overall impediment to good governance.

Statistics: Over 5 crore cases are pending across all Indian courts (Supreme Court, High Courts, Subordinate Courts). Delhi's lower courts alone have 15.85 lakh pending cases, with 1.3 lakh more cases added annually than disposed of.

Specific challenges: Cheque bounce cases (under Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881) now constitute four out of ten pending cases in Delhi courts, despite new criminal laws mandating six-month disposal timelines.

Impact on Rule of Law: Prolonged delays undermine the principle that justice should be swift and accessible, leading to a perception of injustice.

Affects ease of doing business: Commercial disputes taking years to resolve deter investment and economic activity.

Causes include: Judicial vacancies (over 25% in High Courts), inadequate judicial infrastructure, frequent adjournments, complex procedural laws, increasing number of cases, and insufficient judge-to-population ratio.

Consequences involve: Denial of timely justice, erosion of public trust in the judiciary, economic costs due to delayed dispute resolution, violation of human rights (e.g., prolonged undertrial detention), and overall impediment to good governance.

Statistics: Over 5 crore cases are pending across all Indian courts (Supreme Court, High Courts, Subordinate Courts). Delhi's lower courts alone have 15.85 lakh pending cases, with 1.3 lakh more cases added annually than disposed of.

Specific challenges: Cheque bounce cases (under Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881) now constitute four out of ten pending cases in Delhi courts, despite new criminal laws mandating six-month disposal timelines.

Impact on Rule of Law: Prolonged delays undermine the principle that justice should be swift and accessible, leading to a perception of injustice.

Affects ease of doing business: Commercial disputes taking years to resolve deter investment and economic activity.