Indian Judiciary Imprisoned: An Integrated AHP–TOPSIS Approach to Judicial Productivity

Abstract

Many countries around the world have a large number of cases pending in their courts for long years. Research has been conducted on the productivity of courts and judicial systems around the world. Different methodologies have been employed in evaluating the productivity of judicial systems. Indian courts are also in a sorry state due to huge backlog of cases pending in courts. However, for India, though there are many papers on the state of judicial system suggesting ways to clear this backlog, there is hardly any research on courts’ productivity. This article addresses this research gap using an integrated analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique of order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach in evaluating court productivity in India. Data pertaining to the Supreme Court and the High Courts in India have been evaluated to rank the courts in order of their productivity. Performance of the courts has also been evaluated on the basis of a few established judicial indices. It is revealed that judges’ productivity is directly proportional to the caseload per judge but the same may not be true for court productivity. Further, poor judicial administration also contributes to piling of cases as backlogs.