IJR released : A mixture of hopeful milestones and saddening realties

 The 2025 India Justice Report (IJR) reveals that India’s 20.3 lakh strong police force has less than 1000 women officers in senior ranks, including non-IPS officers. The report ranks Karnataka first among the 18 Large and Mid-sized states, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala. The five southern states dominated the rankings, with Karnataka meeting caste quotas in both police and district judiciary. Kerala has the lowest vacancy among High Court judges and Tamil Nadu performs best in prisons

India has 21,285 judges, with a workload of 15 judges per million population, below the 1987 Law Commission’s recommendation of 50. What is a matter of concern is that High court judges face high workloads, with 33% vacancies and 21% at district courts. High vacancies among prison staff, including medical officers, are also a concern, with an average prisoner-doctor ratio of 775 prisoners per doctor.

The report highlights that India has seen improvements in infrastructural facilities, including an increase in prisons with video conferencing facilities (86%), a slight reduction in court hall shortfall (14.5%), and improved police stations with CCTVs (83%). However, there has been a decline in legal service clinics in villages. Rural police stations have decreased by , while urban ones have increased by.

India’s prisons are over-occupied, with an average occupancy rate of over 131%. The prison population is projected to reach 6.8 Lakhs by 2030, with a prison capacity of 5.15 Lakhs. Over two-thirds of prisoners are undertrials, with a larger share spending more time in prisons.

The police force in India predominantly consists of personnel from SC, ST, or OBC categories, with a high rank-wise disparity. Only 16% of senior positions are held by SC and ST castes. In the district judiciary, only 5% of judges belong to STs and 14% are SCs. The female police force has increased to 12%, but at the officer level, it remains stagnant at 8%. Women judges are more common in district courts (38%), but only one woman Chief Justice is present across the 25 High Courts.