10L execution petitions pending in district courts

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court has said the huge pendency of execution petitions - more than 10 lakh in district courts out of which eight lakh are over six months old - is "very frightening and disappointing". It has asked high courts to put in place a mechanism for their effective and speedy disposal.

In civil matters, particularly property disputes, it is not enough to get a favourable jud-gment. Most of the time, the winning party has to approach the court again for implementation of the order by filing an execution petition when the losing party fails to comply.

Noting that woes for litigants start when they get a decree in their favour as they are unable to reap its fruits for years, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal has been passing directions to dispose of execution petitions within six months.

After examining the data on pendency, the bench said, "The position as on date appears to be very frightening and disappointing. We say so because as on date 7,95,981 execution petitions are pending across the country which are six months old."

The court, however, appreciated the effort made by the district judiciary in implementing its order as more than 4.3 lakh execution petitions had been decided in the last six months and around 7.7 lakh cases disposed of in the last one year after its directions in March 2025.

Pointing out that it had asked HCs to evolve a mechanism and guide their district judiciaries for speedy disposal of execution petitions, the court said HCs had not yet briefed it on steps they had taken and directed them to file their response.

"We wonder if the high courts have evolved some mechanism or provided some procedure in the form of guidance to their respective district judiciaries for effective and speedy disposal of the execution petitions. By the next date of hearing, Oct 7, each of the HCs shall let us know... the mechanism evolved or the type of directions issued to their respective district judiciaries," SC said.

The apex court initiated the exercise to streamline the hearing of execution petitions as it came across a litigant who had got a favourable verdict in a property dispute from HC and SC in 2006. Though two decades had passed, the execution petition was still pending in a lower court. SC had directed the executing court to ensure that vacant and peaceful possession of the suit property was handed over to the appellants in their capacity as decree holders, with the aid of the police, if necessary.