Nearly 46 lakh cases await trial

Justice is not confined to court verdicts alone; timely access to justice is an equally essential element of the rule of law. Yet one of the greatest challenges facing Bangladesh's judiciary for many years has been the ever-growing backlog of pending cases. While new cases are being filed at a rapid pace, the rate of disposal has failed to keep up in many instances. As a result, the number of pending cases has now reached nearly 4.64 million, affecting not only justice seekers but also the overall efficiency of the country's judicial system.

According to data from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, a total of 561,044 civil and criminal cases are currently pending before the Appellate Division and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the country's subordinate courts are burdened with 4,078,432 pending cases. Altogether, Bangladesh's courts are handling 4,639,476 pending cases.

As of March 31 this year, the Appellate Division had 38,713 pending cases, including 21,652 civil and 17,061 criminal cases. The High Court Division, on the other hand, had 522,331 pending cases, comprising 101,168 civil and 421,163 criminal cases. This indicates that criminal cases account for the overwhelming majority of pending litigation before the High Court.

Legal experts say the higher judiciary continues to face mounting pressure from a growing number of writ petitions, appeals, bail applications, constitutional interpretation cases, and significant criminal matters. At the same time, many cases originating in subordinate courts eventually reach the higher courts, further accelerating the growth of the backlog. Consequently, judges are experiencing an increasingly heavy workload.

Despite the enormous backlog, case disposal has continued, Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman told Views Bangladesh that "In 2025, the Appellate Division disposed of 7,553 cases, while the High Court Division disposed of 55,756 cases. Together, the two divisions settled 63,309 cases. However, because new cases continue to be filed, the total number of pending cases remains alarmingly high. The subordinate courts continue to bear the greatest burden. As of March 31, they had 4,078,432 pending cases, including 1,690,443 civil and 2,387,989 criminal cases. In other words, more than half of all pending cases are criminal in nature."

He added that during the past year, the subordinate courts disposed of 275,084 cases, including 49,073 civil and 226,011 criminal cases.

While describing these disposal figures as encouraging, Supreme Court Senior Advocate Md. Omar Faruk told Views Bangladesh that they remain modest compared with the overall volume of pending litigation.

"There are multiple reasons behind the mounting case backlog," he said. "These include a shortage of judges, limited capacity of newly established courts, repeated requests for adjournments, lengthy investigations and witness examinations, a large number of cases involving government agencies, and procedural complexities at different stages of litigation. As a result, it often takes years for a case to be concluded. In civil disputes, it is not uncommon for successive generations of the same family to remain engaged in litigation."

To address the situation, the government has undertaken several administrative and structural initiatives aimed at reducing the backlog.

Attorney General Md. Ruhul Quddus Kajal told Views Bangladesh that the government has already created 536 new judicial posts to strengthen the judiciary. Recruitment is also underway for 150 Civil Judges, while the Judicial Service Commission is proceeding with the appointment of supporting court staff.

He further said that, as part of the government's judicial infrastructure expansion programme, 650 Civil Judge and Senior Civil Judge courts, 406 Joint District Judge courts, and 204 Additional District Judge courts have recently been established. The government is also actively considering the creation of the necessary judicial positions for these new courts.

"Once these positions are filled, we expect the pace of case disposal to improve significantly," he said.

Meanwhile, as part of broader efforts to modernise the judiciary, greater emphasis is being placed on the use of information technology, including e-filing, virtual hearings, digital cause lists, online case tracking, and the effective implementation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms.

However, legal experts argue that simply increasing the number of courts or appointing more judges will not be enough. They stress that comprehensive reforms are needed to improve judicial efficiency, strengthen technology-driven case management, and eliminate unnecessary procedural delays.

Ultimately, justice is meaningful only when it is delivered within a reasonable time. With nearly 46 lakh pending cases, Bangladesh still faces a long and difficult journey toward ensuring timely justice for all.