CUTTACK: Subordinate courts in Odisha disposed of 4,56,352 cases during 2024. During these 12 months, 4,99,030 cases were instituted.
With a case clearance rate (CCR) of 91.41 per cent (pc), the number of pending cases went up from 18,73,312 on January 1 to 19,20,825 by December 31, marking a rise of 47,513 cases during last year, according to the annual records on district courts released by the high court on Saturday.
Despite a rise in CCR from 74.72 pc in January to 117.90 pc in December, the increase in backlog continued. High CCRs were also recorded in March (104.97 pc) and September (127.11 pc). The lowest rate (64.27 pc) was in June.
The continuing backlog despite a marked rise in disposal of cases is attributed to a major rise in the institution of cases and among other reasons such as inadequate judges and courts. The average working strength of judicial officers in the district courts was 837 in 2024 (till December 31), while the average sanctioned strength of judicial officers was 1,028, indicating 191 vacancies in the post.
Of the total cases pending in the lower courts, 3,16,057 cases are civil in nature and 16,04,768 criminal. While 4,18,016 criminal cases were instituted, 4,56,352 were disposed. Similarly, 81,014 civil cases were instituted and 99,776 cases were disposed during last year. Institution of criminal cases increased due to filing of 42,819 cases under MV Act as a result of automatic challan based on CCTV image capture, the official records also revealed.
Courts in Khurda district have the highest number of pending cases (2,08,064) followed by Cuttack (1,99,154), Balasore (1,32,003) and Jajpur (1,01,294). The other districts with high pendency include Ganjam (98,835), Sundargarh (97,696), Bhadrak (96,897) and Angul (90,559).
Courts in Gajapati district have the lowest number of pending cases (8994).