Supreme Court handled over 75,000 cases in 2025, unmatched by any top court

Supreme Court

• Supreme Court of India handled over 75,000 cases in 2025, far more than US or UK
• Over 83,000 cases were pending in Supreme Court as of December 2024
• Experts urge mediation and more judges to address India's judicial backlog

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A number, clear indicating the 'unending burden' on higher judiciary,  the Supreme Court has handled over 75,000 cases in 2025. The figure that is unmatched by any top court.  The number also serves as a sobering reminder of the systemic challenges confronting the judiciary.

In contrast, though thousands of cases are filed every year in US Supreme Court, it accepts only 70-80 cases for arguments. Till Dec 29, UK Supreme Court had received little over 200 cases and gave judgments in around 50 cases. Their Indian counterpart gave 1,400 lengthy judgments and thousands of orders to dispose of cases.

Several jurists have strongly supported the idea of promoting mediation as a better and more suitable way to resolve legal disputes in India.

While speaking at a national conference titled ‘Exploring the Efficacy and Reach of Mediation’,  at a recent event the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta said that India’s rising number of court cases needs fresh and practical solutions, and mediation could be the right path forward. He stressed that mediation helps both parties come to a mutual understanding instead of fighting like in a traditional court case.

The sanctioned bench strength of the Court has been modified six times to reach 34—it was expanded to 11 in 1956, to 14 in 1960, to 18 in 1978, to 26 in 1986, to 31 in 2009 and finally to 34 in 2019. The expansion has been considered necessary as more cases reach the Supreme Court. As of December 2024, over 83,000 cases remained pending, an increase of nearly 14,000 since the end of 2020. At the close of 1950, the first year of the Court’s functioning, there were only 690 cases pending.

The country has one of the lowest judge-to-population ratios globally—21 judges per million of the population across the country. (it is 150 per million in the US).  That’s far less than even half of the 50 per million recommended in a Law Commission Report published in 1987. Former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud had also remarked: “We simply need more judges, we are engaging with the government to increase the strength of the judiciary at all levels.”