Pendency increases by 200 cases in September 2024

September 2024 closed with 83,100 cases in the Supreme Court, marking a net increase of 213 cases compared to August 2024. This comes after a decline in pendency in the months of July and August. In September, the brief downward trend reversed marginally.

Figure 1 displays a month-wise breakdown of cases pending before the Supreme Court. Each figure highlights the pendency numbers at the end of each month. 

As per the chart, with the exception of February 2024 when pendency dropped to 79,766, pendency at the Court has exceeded 80,000. Notably, pendency has only decreased in three months this year: February, July and August. The decline in July and August followed the peak in June 2024, a month where the Court was closed for its summer break. 

The current trend appears to mimic the pattern observed in 2023, where pendency decreased in July and August but increased again in September. We can anticipate a similar rise in October 2024, especially as the top court will be closed for two weeks for Dussehra and Diwali. 

Figure 2 illustrates the number of Constitution Bench cases pending in the Supreme Court. The donut on the left shows the number of main pending matters whereas the donut on the right shows the tagged matters pending in the Court. Tagged matters are cleared once the main matters are decided. 

Constitution Bench pendency has not reduced since August 2024, but a significant drop is anticipated before the retirement of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on 10 November 2024. Seven Constitution Bench decisions are expected to be delivered before his retirement. These include four five-judge bench cases, one seven-judge bench case, and two nine-judge bench decisions.