Government complains about backlog, but feeds it too as the biggest litigant, says Supreme Court judge Nagarathna

Supreme Court justice Justice B.V. Nagarathna connected Saturday (March 21, 2026) said the authorities raises concerns astir backlog successful courts portion simultaneously feeding that pendency done relentless litigation.

Justice Nagarathna was addressing judges and elder advocates astatine the Supreme Court Bar Association’s First National Conference connected the taxable ‘Reimagining Judicial Governance: Strengthening Institutions for Democratic Justice’ successful Bengaluru.

“The signifier produces a paradox. The authorities publically expresses interest astir judicial backlog portion simultaneously feeding that backlog done relentless litigation. The State becomes some the complainant and the cause,” Justice Nagarathna said.

The elder justice said the authorities donned a dual role. It was the supplier of infrastructure and judicial reforms for courts, but besides the biggest litigant. “The authorities is the biggest litigator, whether it is astatine the Central level oregon astatine the State level. The State is expected to litigate with restraint and beryllium a exemplary litigator, but that does not happen. It goes connected litigating until the end. The authorities is not lone a specified subordinate successful litigation, it is besides the azygous largest generator of litigation,” Justice Nagarathna said.

Justice Nagarathna interestingly said that a authorities serviceman who settled a quality would look audit objections. On the different hand, an authoritative who filed an entreaty oregon a revision seldom faced criticism.

“An entreaty signals diligence, whereas a determination not to record an entreaty volition invitation vigilance inquiries,” the justice pointed out. As a result, bureaucratic caution has added to lawsuit pendency, Justice Nagarathna said. “The effect is predictable. Appeals go regular alternatively than rare.”

Poor tribunal capacity

Justice Nagarathna said the results of ceaseless litigation up done the aggregate tiers of courts leads not lone to increasing pendency but adjacent stagnation owing to the inability of the judiciary to header with the docket explosion. “The measurement of disputes grows with population, economical activity, and regulatory expansion. But the organization capableness of courts grows slowly,” the justice said.

“Judicial infrastructure seldom receives sustained governmental attention. Expanding courts does not make the aforesaid contiguous visibility arsenic constructing highways oregon launching payment programmes. The governmental inducement is anemic erstwhile it comes to judicial infrastructure investment. Therefore, the percent allotted is besides precise less,” she noted.

Justice Nagarathna recommended the constitution of a Judicial Reforms Commission to code the occupation of chronic pendency and urge corrective measures.