KOTTAYAM: 20.76 lakh cases are pending in various courts of the state, including the High Court. 1.94 lakh cases are pending in the High Court, while 18.82 lakh cases are still pending in the District, Magistrate, and Munsiff courts, according to data from the National Judicial Data Grid. Although it is a good thing that hearings through video conferencing have started post-Covid, the increasing number of cases filed daily has become a challenge.

48,213 pending cases are more than ten years old. Of these, 29,233 cases are in the High Court and 18,980 cases are in the lower courts. The High Court is now hearing 16,845 civil cases and 12,393 criminal cases that are more than ten years old. 2,683 cases filed by elderly persons and 7,013 cases filed by women are currently pending in the High Court. Most of the cases pending in lower courts are criminal cases- 13.66 lakh criminal cases and 5.16 lakh civil cases.

Highest number of pending cases in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram is ahead in the number of pending cases. Wayanad has the lowest number of pending cases. A total of 4.05 lakh cases are pending in courts in Thiruvananthapuram (83,949 civil cases and 3,21,517 criminal cases). There are 25,253 pending cases in Wayanad (5,144 civil and 20,109 criminal cases)

In the order of District, civil, criminal and total

Kollam : 47174, 1,74416 - 2,21,590

Pathanamthitta : 23358, 92322- 1,15,680

Alappuzha : 37360, 49309- 86669

Kottayam : 29925, 91356-12281

Idukki : 12275, 60007-72282

Ernakulam : 59440,242884-302324

Thrissur: 93684,101796-195480

Palakkad : 33243, 50093-83336

Malappuram : 24549, 49402-73951

Kozhikode : 29036,54139-83175

Kannur : 29107, 40175-69282

Kasaragod : 7906,19133-27039