Efficiency measurement of Indian high courts using DEA: A policy perspective

Abstract

The Indian judicial system is extensive and plagued by several issues, especially high pendency levels across all levels. The present work has two goals. Firstly, it aims to measure the efficiency of Indian high courts using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Secondly, it studies the impact of including pending cases on judicial efficiency. The first DEA model takes only judicial resources, namely, number of judges and staff members as inputs, and two outputs, viz., number of civil and criminal cases disposed. Since further data analysis reveals a role for using caseload as an input, two more DEA models are developed to incorporate these factors. The first includes the number of civil and criminal cases instituted during the year as inputs, and the second incorporates the effect of both incoming and pending cases. Models 2 and 3 help to distinguish between the courts that are efficient with respect to incoming cases, and those that are able to efficiently manage their total workload. Results identify the specific courts that are efficient in disposing cases, including the effect of their high volume. They point to policy imperatives and overall peer learning, as well as for specific aspects such as dealing with high pendency or fresh institution of cases. Finally, a comparison between these models can help the judicial officials of inefficient courts develop reforms with specific aims such as reducing backlog of cases, matching outflow and inflow of cases, or in some cases, both.