National News

Special Benches for Pending Cases

July 21 , 2026 16 hrs 0 min 86 0

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant constituted four special benches in the Supreme Court of India to exclusively hear the oldest pending civil and criminal cases and reduce the judicial backlog.
Two civil benches headed by Justice P. K. Mishra and Justice S. V. N. Bhatti will focus on long-pending civil disputes, while two criminal benches led by Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan will handle old criminal cases.
These benches will function on non-miscellaneous days (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) to ensure uninterrupted hearing of legacy cases.
The move aims to address rising case pendency, as the Supreme Court’s pending cases have crossed 90,000, despite the court recording high disposal rates in recent years.
Increased e-filing, virtual hearings and easier access to courts have contributed to a rise in new case filings, creating a gap between case intake and disposal.