Only 15 judges/mn population, says IJR

There are only 15 judges per million population in the country, a far cry from the Law Commission’s recommendation of 50 judges per million population, according to India Justice Report (IJR) 2025 released Tuesday.

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In contrast, the US has 150 judges per million population, according to a January 2024 “New York Times” news report, and Europe had an average of 220 judges per million in 2022, according to an October 2024 Council of Europe report.

“For 1.4 billion people, India has 21,285 judges, or approximately 15 judges per million population. This continues to be significantly below the 1987 Law Commission's recommendation of 50 judges per million population,” said IJR 2025, which ranks states on the delivery of justice in the country.

While High Courts struggled with 33 per cent vacancies of judges, district courts managed proceedings with 21 per cent vacancies — indicating a high workload for the existing judges.

“Nationally, in the district courts, the average workload is 2,200 cases per judge. In the Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh High Courts, the caseload per judge amounts to 15,000,” it said.