Overview

• In an October 16 review, a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal recorded 8,82,578 execution petitions pending nationwide and called the figures highly disappointing and alarming.
• Since the March 6, 2025 directions, district courts disposed of 3,38,685 petitions over six months under a regime that makes presiding officers administratively answerable for delays.
• High Courts were granted a further six months to ensure disposal and must furnish complete status data, including from their original sides, for the April 10, 2026 hearing.
• The Supreme Court directed the Karnataka High Court’s Registrar General to explain within two weeks why required pendency and disposal data was not submitted.
• Backlogs are concentrated in a few jurisdictions, led by Bombay (3.41 lakh), Madras (86,148), Kerala (82,997) and Andhra Pradesh (68,137), while several smaller states reported minimal pendency.