February 2026: Pendency dips by 826 as disposals soar

February closed with a total of 92,002 cases pending in the Supreme Court–a decline of 826 cases compared to January 2026 where it stood at 92,828 cases. For the first time since February 2025, the Court disposed of more cases than it instituted. Further, this is the first time that the pendency curve is on the decline in eight months. 

Month-wise breakdown of pendency

Figure 1 provides a breakdown of monthly pendency since August 2025. As per the chart, pendency increased each month reaching an all-time high in January 2026, followed by a noticeable dip in February. Pendency figures fell below numbers recorded in December 2025. 

The Court had a sustained judicial output, as it delivered a total of 90 judgements over 20 working days, despite February being a shorter calendar month. 

Note: Data up to February 2025 was sourced from scobserver.in, while the February 2026 figures were collected from the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).

Figure 2 displays the pendency of cases each year in February between 2020 and 2026. 

Pendency grew steadily from 2020 with three notable spikes: The first, in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the second, in February 2024 due to the change in counting methodology following former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud’s decision to include diarised matters in the total; and the third in February 2026 after pendency monumentally increased in the latter half of 2025. 

While there is no measured answer to the steep climb in pendency, the climb can be attributed to the Court’s turbulent year of three Chiefs, where quick transitions in leadership came at the expense of soaring pendency. 

Constitution Bench Pendency 

Figure 3 illustrates the number of Constitution Benches pending before the Supreme Court. Main pending matters are shown on the left, and connected matters (which are cleared once the main matter is decided) are shown on the right. 

In February, Chief Justice Surya Kant listed two pending nine-judge Constitution Bench matters–”Definition of Industry” and “Sabarimala Temple Entry Review,”. They will be heard in March and April 2026 respectively. 

With the listing of the two nine-judge Constitution Benches, the CJI delivered on his promise of reviving Constitution Bench hearings. Last year, the Court had heard and decided only four Constitution Bench cases. The early listing of the nine-judge benches comes across as a course correction under the current Chief Justice. 

Institution and Disposals over the past six months

Figure 4 illustrates institutions and disposals of matters in the last six months. The curve for institution of cases has been steadily increasing since October 2025. While there was a notable decrease in the number of cases instituted in October, disposal of cases did not catch up. 

In December last year, the gap between institutions and disposals widened. However, in his first month CJI Surya Kant responded with a solemn resolve to tackle the pendency crisis, promising predictable timelines for judgements, wider adoption for mediation and an uniform national policy for disposal. 

Expedited judgement output and speedy disposals over institutions are an encouraging start. However, larger structural reforms as pendency alleviating measures are yet to come by. 

Note: For our pendency, institution and disposal articles, we primarily rely on the data provided on the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). We cross-check institution and disposal numbers with the Justice Clock. Typically, on the fifth of each month, the institution and disposal numbers on both portals match. This time, the NJDG recorded two more disposals than the Justice Clock.