Over 66 lakh cases in district courts delayed due to unavailability of lawyers

National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) statistics reveal that as of September 14, 2024, a total of 66,59,565 civil and criminal cases before the district courts in India are delayed because of unavailability of lawyers. .The NJDG identifies causes for delays in cases before the district courts cases, and the top reason for the backlog is the unavailability of counsel to represent parties.A majority of these - over 5.1 lakh - are criminal cases..Over 38 lakh cases have been delayed because accused are absconding. This is followed by delays due to "witness", which account for 2,920,033 cases, and cases "stayed for various reasons", totaling 2,462,051.More than 8 lakh cases have been delayed because parties were not interested.Other reasons for delays include the execution of decrees, frequent appeals, legal representatives not being on record, unavailability of case records and cases being stayed by the High Court or Supreme Court, among others..These figures put the spotlight on lawyers in terms of what role they play in increasing the backlog before our courts..Last year, the Supreme Court while flagging the massive pendency of cases in Maharashtra courts said that the issue cannot be resolved unless lawyers also cooperate with the process and act in a fair manner."If the members of the Bar do not cooperate with the Trial Courts, it will be very difficult for our Courts to deal with the huge arrears. While a trial is being conducted, the members of the Bar are expected to act as officers of the Court. They are expected to conduct themselves in a reasonable and fair manner," the Bench observed..A couple of years back, Justice MR Shah revealed that the unavailability of lawyers to argue cases was an issue before the Supreme Court as well. He observed during a hearing,"One of the reasons for pendency is letter for adjournments. Everyday 5 to 6 matters in criminal matters adjournments letters are given, where personal difficulty is cited.".Former Chief Justice of India NV Ramana also urged lawyers to play their part in reducing pendency figures by advising their clients to settle disputes at the pre-litigation stage itself..The NJDG reveals more interesting figures on pendency. Another section highlights the age of cases pending before district courts. Approximately 99,000 have been pending for over 30 years.Over 2 crore cases have been filed within the past 0 to 3 years and are still pending for disposal..Before the High Courts, 59,61,088 cases are pending with over 76,000 of them being over 30 years old.Of the total pending cases, 1,07,972 are bail matters..A total of 67,390 cases are currently pending in the Supreme Court, with only 21 of them being over 30 years old.