No court infra in 5 Sub-Divisions of Ladakh
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 1: The pendency of cases in the District and Subordinate Courts across Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir continues to surge because of steady increase in litigation, shortage of Judicial Officers and failure to establish new courts despite growing demand. Moreover, there is no court infrastructure in five Sub-Divisions of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
This has come to the fore from different replies furnished by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal about the backlog of cases and judicial infrastructure in the Lok Sabha today.
As per the data shared by the Minister with the Members of Parliament, the pendency of cases in the District and Subordinate Courts as on December 31, 2020 was 198771 and this number increased to 216245 as on December 31, 2021. As on December 31, 2022, the pendency of cases further surged to 272543.
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“A total of 335513 cases are pending in the District and Subordinate Courts of J&K UT as on July 28, 2025 while as the number in respect of Union Territory of Ladakh is 1417”, the Minister said while disclosing that sanctioned strength of Judicial Officers in the Union Territory of J&K is 322 and 50 posts are presently lying vacant. Similarly, seven posts are lying vacant in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Officers in the High Court Registry said, “though substantial number of cases are being disposed off by the District and Subordinate Courts yet pendency is rising year after year mainly because the inflow of cases is increasing due to awareness, rising population and socio-economic complexities. But unfortunately, the number of Judges and courts has not kept pace”.
“In some districts, Judicial Officers are handling caseloads far beyond the manageable threshold severely impacting the speed of justice delivery”, they said, adding “due to the judge-to-population ratio being significantly below the national standards, the judiciary is facing an unsustainable workload”.
As per the data provided by the Union Ministry in the Parliament, a total of 45,296 cases are also pending in the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as on July 28, 2025. “Recognizing the need for judicial efficiency, the Government has undertaken several proactive measures, as mandated under Article 21 of the Constitution, to facilitate faster disposal of cases and enhance the overall functioning of the courts”, the Minister said.
Responding to the query of Member of Parliament from Ladakh Mohd Haneefa, the Law Minister informed that there are 10 Sub-Divisions in the Union Territory and court infrastructure is available only in five Sub-Divisions namely Zanskar, Sankoo, Khaltsi, Nubra and Drass.
“A sum of Rs 8.33 crore has been released to UT of Ladakh under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme during last five years. In addition, for the financial year 2025-26, a sum of Rs 2 crore has been earmarked under the CSS for UTs without Legislature”, the Minister said, adding “presently, 11 court halls and four residential units are available in Ladakh. However, four court halls and two residential units are under construction”.
About the settlement of cases in the Ladakh UT, he said that from January 2022 to ending 2024, a total of 5375 cases were settled in the National Lok Adalat and 240 in the State Lok Adalat.
The Minister informed the Parliament that Ladakh administration has established Special Mobile Magistrate Courts in the districts of Kargil and Leh for timely access to justice. In addition, NALSA introduced the National Toll Free Legal Aid Helpline Number on IVRS technology in August 2024, which connects Indian Citizens with legal advice and referral services. A total of 1540 persons benefitted in the UT through legal aid and advice under various activities/programmes undertaken by Ladakh Legal Services Authority during the last three years.
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