The Supreme Court of India is currently facing a significant backlog of cases, with 29 Constitution Bench matters pending for adjudication. Responding to a query raised by CPI(M) MP AM Arif, the Union Law Ministry provided detailed insights into the status of these pending cases.
According to the Ministry, out of the 29 pending cases, 18 are awaiting resolution before a 5-Judge Bench, 6 cases are pending before a 7-Judge Bench, and 5 cases are before a 9-Judge Bench. The oldest case in this backlog is Abhiram Singh v. C.D Commachen (Dead) By Lrs. & Ors, which dates back to 1992. This case revolves around the election of the Santacruz Legislative Assembly Seat, held in 1990 for the Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly.
However, the Ministry asserted that the pendency of these Constitution Bench cases cannot be attributed to a lack of interest in expediting them. As per their response, setting strict parameters and timelines for adjudicating such cases is not feasible, as these matters require in-depth analysis and thorough examination of the law.
The government also informed Parliament that since 1950, the Supreme Court has decided 2,183 Constitution Bench cases. During the 1960s, the highest number of cases, 956, were disposed of, followed by 440 cases during 1950-1959, 292 cases during 1970-1979, 157 cases between 1990 and 1999, 138 cases during 2000-2009, 71 cases during 2010-2019, and only 19 cases between 2020 and 2023.
Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, emphasized that the adjudication and disposal of cases fall under the exclusive domain of the judiciary, and the government has no direct role in it.
The increasing number of pending cases before the Constitution Benches poses a challenge for the judicial system.
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