There is much that’s admirable about India’s free and independent judiciary. Although it’s commonly accepted that the lower judiciary comprising the district, city, civil, family and magistrates courts is in disarray, learned judgements delivered by the country’s metropolitan high and Supreme Courts are usually praiseworthy for their fierce independence, reasoning and academic excellence. The descriptive that the judiciary is democratic India’s third estate (after the legislature and executive) is well deserved.

Unfortunately despite its good reputation, the country’s legal system administered by the upper judiciary is in a shambles. A total number of 50.88 million cases are pending in the country’s 23,790 courts of law. Of this humungous number, 6.1 million are pending in the 25 high courts, and 44.6 million in the district and subordinate courts. Little wonder that it’s quite common for cases to remain pending for generations. The plain unvarnished truth is that far from admiring them for providing adjudication services and justice, most people hate and dread the legal system.

Everyone knows what’s the solution. “The judge-to-population ratio in India is amongst the lowest in the world. We need simply more judges to adjudicate upon cases and we are engaging with the government to increase the strength of the Judiciary at all levels,” said Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India, speaking at the Oxford Union (UK) on June 27. The ratio of judges to population in India is 21 per million as against 150 per million in the US and 210 in Europe.

The consequences of this judges shortage are dire. Under-trial prisoners awaiting adjudication comprise 75 percent of the country’s jail population. On the issue of enforceability of contracts — vital for ease of doing business — India is listed #63 on a league table of 190 countries. Moreover court fees are payable on all civil suits despite which plaintiffs have to wait endlessly for justice.

Almost half a century ago as editor of Business India while writing a cover feature on the law’s delay, your editor interviewed Chief Justice Y.V. Chandrachud (incumbent’s father) who expressed the same intent because he feared “breakdown” of the judicial system.

In the Union Budget 2024-25, the total allocation of the Union ministry of law & justice is Rs.5,940.95 crore (from a total budget of Rs.48 lakh crore). Instead of continuing to bleat about “engaging with government” to expand the judiciary, perhaps it’s time for the Supreme Court to issue an order to government to multiply the judiciary’s budgetary allocation five-fold to appoint more judges and build judicial infrastructure by way of many more court-rooms and accommodation for new judges.

Under the Constitution, the judiciary has parity with Parliament and the executive. The time has come for the judiciary to practice constitutional egalitarianism and assert its power to clean up and rejuvenate the judicial system which is a heavy burden on national development.