Kerala has secured the top position in the India Justice Report (IJR) 2025 among large and mid-sized states for its strong judicial performance. The report, created through a collaborative initiative by DAKSH, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Common Cause, Centre for Social Justice, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and TISS-Prayas, evaluates the capacity of the formal justice system in different states using official government data.
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The ranking is based on 25 key indicators under five main categories:
- Budget: Per capita spending on the judiciary
- Human Resources: Population per judge, judicial staff vacancies
- Diversity: Representation of women, SC/ST/OBC judges
- Infrastructure: Court hall shortages
- Workload and Trends: Case pendency and clearance rates
“Kerala has the lowest vacancy in High Court judges and staff, and the highest case clearance rate in subordinate courts,” the report highlights.
The state has made visible progress by:
- Reducing the vacancy levels in subordinate courts
- Increasing women representation in subordinate courts
- Lowering case pendency per judge in both High Court and subordinate courts
One of the most notable achievements is that Kerala’s district court case clearance rate stands at 113%, meaning the courts are clearing more cases than are being filed, thereby reducing the overall backlog.
“The case clearance rate of the State at the district court level is calculated to be above 100% at 113% which effectively causes a reduction in the backlog.”
However, the report also observed a decline in the percentage of women judges in the High Court, marking it as an area that requires attention.
The overall performance demonstrates Kerala’s commitment to improving judicial efficiency and accessibility, placing it at the top of the judicial rankings in the country for 2025.
In its previous report published in 2022, Kerala was ranked 4th among the large and mid-sized states.
