50 Years, 1 Case: The Harsh Truth About India’s Pending Cases and Court Delays

Justice in India is not delayed by accident. It is delayed by design.

Crores of cases rot inside courtrooms while years turn into decades. Dates are handed out like false promises, files move slower than time, and verdicts arrive when they no longer matter. The system calls it “procedure.” Citizens experience it as punishment. A punishment for daring to seek justice.

In India’s courts, delay is not an exception—it is the norm. Trial courts crawl, appeals pile up, higher courts drown in pendency, and accountability disappears somewhere between adjournments. The law remains powerful on paper, but powerless in practice. By the time justice speaks, lives have already been broken, properties lost, and truths buried under dust-covered files.

This is the uncomfortable truth: India does not just have a slow legal system. It has a justice system where time itself decides the winner.

What's The Story

In 1968, Sopan Gaikwad purchased a modest piece of land in Maharashtra. Everything seemed straightforward—on paper. But soon, Gaikwad stumbled into a hidden trap: the previous owner had mortgaged the land to a bank to secure a loan. When the loan went unpaid, the bank attached the property.

Gaikwad, unaware of the underlying dispute, found himself at the mercy of the legal system. He filed a lawsuit, arguing the bank should recover its dues from the original owner’s other assets, not his land.

The first verdict came on September 10, 1982—14 years after the purchase. The trial court ruled in Gaikwad’s favor. Yet, victory was short-lived. In 1987, the original owner appealed, and the District Court overturned the judgment. Gaikwad then escalated the matter to the Bombay High Court in 1988.

The case dragged on—date after date, year after year—for 27 relentless years. On October 23, 2015, the High Court dismissed the case. But the dismissal was procedural, forcing Gaikwad to take the matter to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court scheduled the final hearing for July 12, 2021—50 years after the saga began. By then, Sopan Gaikwad had passed away.

This is not an isolated story. It is the reality of India’s judicial machinery. Over 50 million cases are pending nationwide. In 2018, estimates suggested it would take 300 years to clear the backlog.

Courts and the Economy: More Than Delays

The consequences extend far beyond individual disputes. Courts that drag cases for decades cripple businesses, innovation, and economic growth.

Fifteen years ago, economists studied Indian textile mills. They found that simple management practices—tracking raw materials, scheduling machine maintenance—boosted profits by 17% annually, roughly ₹1.5 crore. Yet, most mills remained inefficient. Decision-making was centralized in the owner, middle managers had no authority or incentives, and family-run businesses prioritized surnames over performance.

The court system amplifies these inefficiencies. Companies hesitate to hire suppliers or employees, fearing protracted legal battles. The result? India’s courts reduce GDP by an estimated 10% annually. If the judiciary were efficient, the economy could surge immediately.

Structural Flaws in the System

The root of the problem is structural. India has roughly 21,000 judges for 1.5 billion people—just 15 per million, compared to 150–220 in the US and Europe. Vacancies worsen the crisis: one-third of High Court positions remain unfilled, and 20% of lower court roles are empty. Pending cases are strategically prolonged, creating decades-long stalemates.

Recent technological efforts, such as e-courts and live-streaming of hearings, aim to increase transparency and speed. But these measures can only help if combined with sufficient personnel and systemic reform.

The delay in higher courts is not merely a result of bureaucracy—it is often a tug-of-war between the Judiciary and the Executive over appointments within the collegium system. Senior judges recommend candidates, but political and administrative disagreements further stretch timelines.

When Disputes Drag Decades

Cases like these illustrate the scale of delay:

• Uttam Manohar, dismissed from Ford India in 1983, waited 22 years for the Supreme Court to rule in favour of the company.
• VM Saudagar, accused of a ₹50 bribe in 1988, fought through the Central Administrative Tribunal, Bombay High Court, and ultimately the Supreme Court, finally being cleared in 2025—40 years later.

Even simple disputes, which take 150 days in Singapore, drag on for 1,500 days in India. The problem is compounded by unqualified candidates for lower court exams—66% of positions in Delhi remained vacant in 2019, and in Jammu & Kashmir, not a single candidate passed.

Many pending cases involve routine matters like promotions, transfers, pay, or pensions. Simple signatures could resolve them, but structural inefficiencies and legal delays funnel citizens into decades-long battles.

Gaikwad’s Legacy: A System in Crisis

Sopan Gaikwad’s ordeal exemplifies systemic failure. Until structural reforms—adequate judges, streamlined appointments, better training, and a more functional collegium—are implemented, cases will continue to linger for decades. Businesses will remain small and family-run, innovation will stall, and the economy will bear the hidden cost.

The Gaikwad case is not just a legal anomaly—it is a mirror reflecting the urgent need to fix India’s judicial system. Half a century lost to paperwork and adjournments is a cost too high for citizens and the nation alike.

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