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How to check court case status in India

Last checked 7 November 2026 · 5 sources

Short answer

In India, each District Court case gets a 16-digit Case Number Record (CNR) that starts with the State code 4. The eCourts portal gives case status, cause lists and orders for High Courts and District Courts, and a return SMS service answers a CNR query 3. The National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) publishes live pendency counts. On 7 November 2026 it showed 5,21,40,371 cases in District Courts 1 and 65,60,521 in High Courts 2.
Case identifier
16-digit CNR: State code, district code, establishment code, filing number, year 4
SMS status check
SMS ECOURTS followed by the CNR to 9766899899 3
District Courts, total on NJDG
5,21,40,371 on 7 November 2026 1
High Courts, total on NJDG
65,60,521 on 7 November 2026 2
Older than 10 years, District Courts
46,83,644, or 9 per cent 1
Courts computerised under Phase II
18,735 District and Subordinate courts, as of 16 March 2023 5

The CNR number

Before the CNR, different courts used the same case numbers, which caused confusion 4. The Case Information System (CIS) 2.0 solved this with a 16-digit number that gives every case in the District Judiciary a unique identity 4. The number is built from the State code, district code, establishment code, case filing number and the year of the case 4.

The CNR is the most exact way to look a case up. The eCourts home page tells users to send SMS ECOURTS, a space and the CNR to 9766899899 to get the current status by return SMS 3.

Where to check

The Ministry of Law and Justice said on 16 March 2023 that litigants could reach case status information on over 22.38 crore cases and more than 20.83 crore orders and judgments, as on 1 March 2023 5. It listed SMS push and pull, email, the eCourts Services Portal, Judicial Service Centres, kiosks and mobile apps as channels 5.

  • High Court Services on eCourts: cause lists, case status and orders or judgments of High Courts 3.
  • District Court Services on eCourts: cause lists, case status and orders or judgments 3.
  • NJDG for District Courts: pending and disposed dashboards, age-wise pendency and alerts 1.
  • NJDG for High Courts: civil and criminal counts with monthly institution and disposal 2.

District Court pendency on NJDG

The NJDG District Courts dashboard read on 7 November 2026 showed 1,12,55,247 civil and 4,08,85,124 criminal cases, a total of 5,21,40,371 1. It showed a further 12,24,117 pre-litigation and pre-trial matters 1. The age bands below are the dashboard's own figures and percentages 1.

Age of caseCivilCriminalTotal
Less than one year47,75,629 11,68,36,411 12,16,12,040 (41%) 1
1 to 3 years26,65,890 185,00,747 11,11,66,637 (21%) 1
3 to 5 years14,62,112 151,00,654 165,62,766 (13%) 1
5 to 10 years15,47,402 165,71,140 181,18,542 (16%) 1
Above 10 years8,04,590 138,79,054 146,83,644 (9%) 1

Monthly flow and alerts

The same dashboard showed 20,83,826 cases instituted and 15,79,066 disposed in the last month 1. Of the disposals, 3,95,592 or 25 per cent were contested and 11,83,474 or 75 per cent uncontested 1.

NJDG flags records that need attention. It showed 20,34,021 undated cases, 4 per cent of pending cases, and 51,02,926 cases under the heading excessive dated cases, more than 3 months, 10 per cent 1. It listed 9,04,305 cases pending registration 1.

High Court pendency on NJDG

The NJDG High Courts dashboard read on 7 November 2026 showed 45,39,053 civil and 20,21,468 criminal cases, a total of 65,60,521 2. In the last month, 2,04,826 cases were instituted and 1,71,619 disposed 2. Of the disposals, 1,685 were cases more than 10 years old 2.

NJDG counts change daily. Quote them with the date you read them, and do not mix them with annual figures from other reports.

Common questions

What is a CNR number in Indian courts?

A 16-digit Case Number Record that gives each District Judiciary case a unique identity, built from State, district and establishment codes, the filing number and the year 4.

How can I check my case status by SMS?

Send SMS ECOURTS, a space and your CNR to 9766899899 3.

How many cases are pending in India's District Courts?

NJDG showed 5,21,40,371 on 7 November 2026, of which 46,83,644 were above 10 years old 1.

How many cases are pending in India's High Courts?

NJDG showed 65,60,521 on 7 November 2026 2.

What is an undated case on NJDG?

A case NJDG lists under its undated cases alert. The District Courts dashboard showed 20,34,021 on 7 November 2026 1.

Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@statusofrecord.com.

Sources

  1. National Judicial Data Grid: NJDG, District Courts of India (read 7 November 2026)
  2. National Judicial Data Grid: High Courts dashboard (read 7 November 2026)
  3. eCourts Services: Homepage, eCourts Single Sign-On
  4. Calcutta High Court: Case Number Record, CIS module note
  5. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Law and Justice: E-Courts Project for Online Hearing (16 March 2023)

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