New Delhi: A 2025 report on India's judicial system released on Tuesday said that there are only 15 judges per million population in the country, well below the Law Commission's recommendation of 50 judges per million population.
The 2025 India Justice Report (IJR), which ranks states on the delivery of justice in the country, said in January 2025, the actual number of sitting judges, including those of the Supreme Court, stood at 21,285, an increase of almost 6 per cent from 2022 but well below the present sanctioned strength of 26,927.
The report said for 1.4 billion people, India has 21,285 judges or approximately 15 judges per million population, and this continues to be significantly below the 1987 Law Commission’s recommendation of 50 judges per million population.
"Based on the 2011 census and sanctioned strengths, a Rajya Sabha response puts the judge-to-population ratio at 21 judges to a million (10 lakh). Based on population projections of March 2025, the actual strength of the bench stands at 15 judges per 10 lakh population. If the sanctioned strength were met, the judge-to-population ratio would still be only 19 judges per 10 lakh population—well below the 1987 Law Commission recommendation of 50 judges per 10 lakh population," said the report.
According to the report, the vacancy among High Court judges is at 33%, and 21% at the district judiciary, which translates to considerably high workload for judges, especially in the High Courts’. For example, in Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh High Courts, the caseload per judge amounts to 15,000 cases, and nationally, in the district courts, the average workload is 2,200 cases per judge.
The report said between 2016-17 and 2025, the overall sanctioned strength of High Court judges fell from 1,136 to 1,122. "The High Courts of Sikkim, Tripura and Meghalaya are the only High Court that work with a full complement of judges. Measured by population, India averages one High Court judge for 18.7 lakh population and one subordinate court judge for 69,000 people. In only eight High Courts, does one High Court judge serve less than 10 lakh people. Everywhere else it is between 12 lakhs (Madras High Court) to 38 lakh (Patna High Court) people," said the report. The report said Kerala has the lowest vacancy among High Court judges.
It said that the overall share of women judges in the district judiciary increased from 30 per cent in 2017 to 38.3 per cent, and it increased from 11.4 percent to 14 per cent in the High Courts in 2025. It also said there is also a higher share of women judges in the district court as compared to the High Courts and the Supreme Court (6%), and, currently, there is only one woman Chief Justice across the 25 High Courts.
The report also revealed that India’s 20.3 lakh strong police force has less than 1000 women officers in senior ranks like superintendents and director-generals. It said including non-IPS officers, the number is just over 25,000, and women officers in non-IPS ranks comprise just 8% of the 3.1 lakh total officers, with 90% of women in police in the constabulary.
The report ranks Karnataka first overall, with the state retaining its top spot among the 18 large and mid-sized states (with populations of over one crore each). It was followed by Andhra Pradesh, climbing from fifth in 2022 to second, Telangana (2022 ranking: 3rd), and Kerala (2022 ranking: 6th).
The five southern states dominated the rankings, owing to better performance across the four pillars in comparison to other states. The report said Karnataka is the only state that met its caste quotas (SC, ST, and OBC) in both the police (at the constabulary and officer level) as well as in the district judiciary.
The report said Tamil Nadu performs the best in prisons with one of the lowest occupancy rates (77%, compared to the national average of over 131%). It added that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh also outperform other states, particularly with regards to the Police, ranking 1st and 2nd on that pillar respectively.
"Sikkim (2022 ranking: 1st), topped the table among the seven Small States (with populations less than one crore each), followed by Himachal Pradesh (2022: 6th), and Arunachal Pradesh (2022: 2nd). Among other states, between IJR 2022 and 2025, Bihar recorded the most improvement, followed by Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand also performed better than seven other states including Haryana, Telangana, and Gujarat on the improvement scorecard," it said.
The report said caste-based reservations vary from state-to-state, but state-wise data on caste diversity in the High Courts remains unavailable. “However, parliamentary responses to caste diversity at the High Courts state that, of 698 high court judges appointed since 2018, 22 are from the Scheduled Castes (SCs), 15 belong to the Scheduled Tribes (STs), 87 to the Other Backward Classes (OBC), and 37 are from the minority communities," said the report.
The report said the national per capita spend on legal aid was Rs 6.46 per annum whereas the national per capita spend on the judiciary stood at Rs 182. "No state spends more than one per cent of its total annual expenditure on the judiciary," said the report.
"At the High Court level, Uttar Pradesh records 4.5 lakh cases pending for more than ten years, followed by Maharashtra (1.7 lakh) and Madhya Pradesh (1.4 lakh). In all the High Courts, with the exception of Karnataka, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Tripura, one in every two matters has been pending for more than three years; in the Allahabad High Court this applies to 71 per cent of all matters," it added.
The report said in the district courts of twenty six states/UTs, one in three cases has been pending for more than three years. In this, Bihar with 71 per cent pending cases, is the highest. Six states/UTs—Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal— have more than 50 per cent cases pending for more than three years, and only Sikkim has less than 10 per cent such cases.
The IJR 2025 has reiterated both immediate and foundational corrections. It has flagged urgent filling of vacancies and increased representation, and to effect irreversible change, it has exhorted that justice delivery be designated as an essential service.
The IJR was first initiated by Tata Trusts, with the first-ever ranking published in 2019. This is the fourth edition of the report, in collaboration with partners including the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS–Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and How India Lives, IJR’s data partner.
