6 months ago
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Chief Justice of India-designate Justice Surya Kant connected Saturday (November 22, 2025) said 1 of the biggest challenges successful his tenure arsenic apical justice would beryllium to bring 90,000 pending cases successful the Supreme Court down to a “manageable” number.
Even arsenic helium spoke astatine 7, Krishna Menon Marg to mediapersons, the fig successful the National Judicial Data Grid climbed to 90,225.
Justice Kant said helium did not privation to prosecute successful a blame-game connected who was liable for the staggering fig of arrears successful the apical tribunal — the highest successful the court’s history.
“I volition not prime responsibility connected who is responsible. That is irrelevant,” helium said successful an informal enactment up of taking oath arsenic the 53rd Chief Justice of India connected November 24.
Justice Kant indicated astatine taking a studied and applicable attack to resoluteness the perennial load of pendency.
One of the measures, helium said, would beryllium to place important cases with important questions of instrumentality which person been pending for years successful the apex court.
Trickle-down effect
These pending cases, the justice noted, person a trickle-down effect. They stall little courts, oregon adjacent the Supreme Court, from deciding idiosyncratic cases with connected issues.
Untying the knot successful these halfway cases done authoritative declarations of instrumentality by Constitution Benches would let judges, from the Supreme Court to the territory courts, to dispose of the connected cases pending with them.
“I volition represent nine-judge and seven-judge Benches for specified cases. The recognition of these cases with important questions of law, due to the fact that of which thousands of cases are pending, volition beryllium prioritised,” Justice Kant said.
He said helium has already sought accusation from High Courts connected long-pending cases.
To a question by The Hindu if the Supreme Court whitethorn itself beryllium contributing to the pendency by entertaining miscellaneous applications connected cases successful which binding judgments person already been delivered, Justice Kant said determination person been instances of the tribunal relooking 30-year-old cases successful which judgments were pronounced.
Justice Kant said the tribunal had precocious been witnesser to the improvement of pendency continuing to emergence contempt judges maintaining a precocious disposal rate. He said, astatine times, disposal rates outmatched filings successful the apex court.
‘Approach High Courts first’
The justice indicated that 1 of the reasons for the precocious complaint of filing, too online access, whitethorn beryllium litigants opting to determination the Supreme Court straight alternatively than approaching High Courts first.
“High Courts are arsenic law bodies,” Justice Kant emphasised.
The CJI-designate termed mediation arsenic a “game-changer” successful quality resolution.
He termed mediation arsenic an alternate to prolonged litigation. He said corporates were progressively turning to mediation arsenic a amended option. This alteration successful cognition would besides marque a quality for the amended successful the pendency count.
“This [encouraging mediation arsenic an alternative] is my archetypal and foremost agenda,” Justice Kant said.
The CJI-designate said judges indispensable not travel nether unit from societal media trolling oregon beryllium influenced by online commentary. Judicial independency was paramount, helium stressed.
