In a pointed critique of the Indian judicial system, former Supreme Court Justice Madan B. Lokur has raised concerns about the persistent shortfall of judges across various levels of courts in India, despite there being ample vacancies. His comments came during the release of the 2025 India Justice Report (IJR), which assesses states on their justice delivery.
Justice Lokur highlighted the significant gap between sanctioned and actual judicial positions, noting that district courts across the country have about 33% vacancies, while high courts have about 21%. “You may have enough vacancies, but you don’t have enough judges. So where is justice going to come from?” he questioned the attendees of the report launch.
The former judge recalled that the strength of high court judges had been increased by 25% indiscriminately which did not correspond with the actual number of judges needed or present at the time. For instance, the Delhi High Court’s sanctioned strength was increased from 48 to 60 judges, yet it never reached its initial cap before the increment.
Based on the recommendations of the 1987 Law Commission which suggested having 50 judges per million population, India would currently need about 70,000 judges due to its burgeoning population, which stands at 1.4 billion. However, the actual number of sitting judges is far below this recommendation, with only 21,000 judges currently serving against a sanctioned strength of 25,000.
Justice Lokur also pointed out the severe shortage of judicial staff, estimating that around five lakh staff members are needed to support the current judiciary adequately. He criticized the implementation of the Gram Nyayalayas, initiated in 2009 to provide local access to justice, which has not seen the establishment of the thousands expected but only about 40 to 50.
