India Justice 2025 Report:
Southern states of India significantly surpass others in policing, prisons, and justice. Telangana takes the lead in policing, while West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are at the bottom. The same holds true in the context of prisons and justice, with West Bengal and UP at the lower ranks. Presenting the complete India Justice 2025 report.
- 2 million police officers throughout the country
- One police officer is responsible for 831 citizens
- 90% of the 250,000 women in the police force are constables in West Bengal
- Uttar Pradesh faces one of the worst policing scenarios
- By the end of 2024, courts will have 50 million pending cases
- Total of 21,285 judges in the country
- Only 15 judges per million people
- 33% of High Court positions and 21% in lower courts remain vacant
- Each judge in Madhya Pradesh and Allahabad High Court handles 15,000 cases
Our country's entire judicial system starts from police stations and ends in courts. The time taken for this journey, the integrity of their work, and the basic facilities available determine the effectiveness of our justice system. The question arises: is law enforcement in southern states superior? Are states in South India better at policing, adjudication, and imprisonment compared to North India? And are West Bengal and UP the worst when it comes to policing quality?
The four pillars of democracy—judiciary, executive, legislature, and media—are akin to the pillars of justice: police, courts, jails, and legal aid. A robust justice system relies on the seamless functioning of these four pillars. If even one falters, the entire judicial framework is at risk.
On April 15, the Dorabji Tata Trust released the India Justice 2025 Report, revealing the state of police forces, prisons, judiciary, and legal aid nationwide. This report is based on government statistics and over 100 pieces of evidence.
The report divides states into two categories: large and small. It assesses 18 large states on their performance in policing, prisons, judiciary, and legal aid. Telangana ranks first in policing, while West Bengal ranks last, following by Uttar Pradesh.
According to the India Justice Report, Karnataka leads in overall rankings for police, prisons, judiciary, and legal aid, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu—all from South India, with no representation from the North.
Looking closely at the rankings, the condition of female police officers is not as promising. Out of 2 million officers, 242,000 are women, with 90% serving as constables. Less than a thousand women hold senior positions like SP or DG, and only 960 out of the 2,42,000 women are IPS officers, out of a total of 5,047 IPS officers in the country.
From January 2017 to January 2023, 64,000 new police positions were approved, yet only 44,000 were filled, with 28-32% of officer vacancies persistently open during this time.
Across India, one police officer is responsible for an average of 831 people. In Bihar, a single officer covers 1,522 citizens, with 1,298 in Odisha, and 1,277 in West Bengal. Punjab fares best among the 18 largest states, with a workload of 504 per officer.
Representation of SC communities in policing stands at 17%, while ST communities account for 12%. In Madhya Pradesh and Allahabad High Courts alone, every judge handles 15,000 cases, illustrating the backlog of pending cases nationwide. By the end of 2024, pending cases in the country have reached 50 million, with over 25% in lower courts unchanged for over three years in 17 major states.
By late 2024 except for Sikkim, Tripura, and Meghalaya, most High Courts have an average caseload of over 1,000 per judge. At the district level, there are more than 500 pending cases per judge. Uttar Pradesh leads in district-level pending cases with 4,300 per judge, compared to Karnataka's 1,750 and Kerala's 38 cases per judge.
With a population of 1.4 billion, there are only 21,285 judges across the nation, and 33% of High Court and 21% of lower court positions remain vacant. The judicial population density stands at 15 judges per million people, and filling these vacancies would increase this to 19 judges per million, although the Law Commission recommended at least 50 per million in 1987.
The inclusion of women in judiciary roles is somewhat better than policing, with 38% of lower court judges being women, and 14% in High Courts. According to the India Justice Report, the highest vacancy rate for judges is in different High Courts, leading to a significant backlog and heavy caseload for High Court judges. Nearly 51% of cases are pending for over five years in the 25 High Courts, with over 70% pending in some, especially West Bengal, where each lower court judge handles justice for 114,334 individuals.
Some 50% of the country's jails are overcrowded. According to the India Justice Report, more than half of the jails in the country exceed capacity, with some housing nearly 400% more inmates than they are built for. India’s most overcrowded jails include Muradabad District Jail, Bengal’s Kandi Sub Jail, Delhi’s Tihar Jail Number Four, Gyanpur District Jail in UP, and Delhi’s Tihar Jail Number One.
Overcrowding due to under-trial prisoners is increasing. Currently, 570,000 inmates are in various jails around the country, with only 1,40,000 being convicts. The remaining 430,000 are under-trial prisoners. With over 50 million pending cases, it’s unrealistic to expect quick resolutions, contributing to the rising number of under-trial prisoners in overcrowded jails.
The India Justice Report ranks prisons across the country. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala lead for having well-run facilities, while Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh rank the lowest.
Source: aajtak
Similarly, rankings for small states were conducted, with Arunachal Pradesh leading in quality, while Goa was rated the poorest in terms of its prison conditions.
The India Justice Report has also ranked judicial systems of different states. Kerala, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu are the top three states in terms of judicial excellence. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand rank the poorest for judiciary. The ranking for all 18 states is as follows-
Source: aajtak
The India Justice Report has also listed the rankings of judiciary in seven smaller states. Tripura ranks the best, while Goa is at the bottom for judiciary quality.
The India Justice Report relies on data from government departments and institutions like the Bureau of Police Research and Development, Indian Jail Statistics, CAG, and NALSA to provide an in-depth analysis of justice performance across India.
