Overview

• A bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal recorded 8,82,578 execution petitions pending in district courts and called the numbers highly disappointing and alarming.
• The Supreme Court granted High Courts an additional six months to drive disposals and fixed April 10, 2026 for the next compliance review.
• High Courts were told to institute effective monitoring mechanisms and ensure accountability of presiding officers handling execution matters.
• Courts disposed of 3,38,685 execution petitions in the six months since the March 6 Periyammal directive to expedite enforcement.
• Pendency is heavily concentrated in Maharashtra under the Bombay High Court (about 3.41 lakh), with high counts also in Madras, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, and the Karnataka High Court was asked to explain its failure to furnish data within two weeks.