India Justice Report 2025
Context: The India Justice Report (IJR) 2025 pointed out that the number of pending cases in the judiciary has crossed the five-crore mark.
Important Pointers:
► Published by: Tata Trusts with partners like DAKSH, CHRI, Common Cause, CSJ, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and TISS-Prayas. ► Assesses: Structural and financial capacity of justice delivery system in states across 5 pillars – Police, Judiciary, Prisons, Legal Aid, Human Rights Commissions.
► Policing: Decline in rural police stations (2017–2023); urban bias persists; the Police-to-population ratio is 155 per 1 lakh (sanctioned: 197); (Bihar: 81 per lakh).
► Judiciary: Pending cases crossed 5 crore; vacancies: 33% (HCs), 21% (District Courts); Workload: 2,200 cases/judge; Case Clearance Rate: 94%.
►Prisons: Overcrowding: Avg. 131%; some jails at 400%+ occupancy; Undertrials: 76% of total prisoners; 1 in 4 detained for 1–3 years pending trial.
► Legal aid issues: poor fund utilisation, 1 clinic for 163 villages, a workforce of ~85,000. ► Forensics: outdated infra, staff shortage; Human Rights Commissions face vacancies.
► Women judges in district courts: 38%. ► CCTV: 83% of police stations are equipped.
► Top Ranked States (Large & Mid-sized): Karnataka (1st), Andhra Pradesh (2nd), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and West Bengal (18th).
Rule of Law Index 2024 (by World Justice Project)
► India’s Rank: 79 out of 142 countries. ► Assessed 8 indicators including Govt. accountability, corruption, rights, order, and civil & criminal justice. ► Criminal Justice Rank: 89 ► Civil Justice Rank: 111