“)Mint has summarised the revolutionary case pendency stats prepared by the Supreme Court in a concise chart, while Legally India asked two academics researching case pendency for comment on Kapadia’s Law Day speech and the new figures.

Over 7 lakh undertrial prisoners have been released in the last year-and-a-half following a joint initiative by the government and High Courts of India, according to law minister Veerappa Moily, seeking to reduce prison populations.

The Indian criminal justice system is near to breaking point as 300,000 people or 70 per cent of India’s prison population consists of those awaiting trial facing a morass of judicial delays, according to a research paper discussing the current state of the Indian criminal justice delivery system.