Overview

• India has only 15 judges per million people, far below the recommended 50, with high courts operating at 33% vacancy and district courts at 21%.
• Southern states, led by Karnataka, dominate justice delivery rankings, while Bengal ranks last despite improvements in its State Human Rights Commission performance.
• Women remain underrepresented in police and judiciary, with only 14% of high court judges and fewer than 1,000 women in senior police positions nationwide.
• Overcrowded prisons operate at 131% capacity, with undertrials making up 76% of inmates and inadequate healthcare resources, including a 775:1 prisoner-doctor ratio.
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are underrepresented in police and judiciary, with SCs and STs accounting for just 17% and 12% of police officers, respectively.