# Montek Singh Ahluwalia calls judicial system an ‘unbelievable mess’ 2026-08-24T11:46:14+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Former Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has described India's judicial system as being in an 'unbelievable mess' and called for urgent reforms, saying the central government alone cannot fix it. Speaking on judicial, land, and labour reforms, he said the Supreme Court should take the lead in overhauling the judiciary. Over 11.73 lakh cases have been pending for more than 20 years across the Supreme Court, high courts, and district courts as of July 2026, according to data cited by Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. Separately, Supreme Court judge Justice MM Sundresh said in April that 4.81 crore cases are pending across all courts in the country. On labour reforms, Ahluwalia said the government reduced central labour laws from 27 to four but made limited substantive changes. He urged state governments to raise the threshold for requiring permission to reduce workforce from 300 workers to 1,000 or even 5,000, and advised industry to focus lobbying on states, which handle half of all business compliances. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Ahluwalia's remarks add to a growing chorus from within and outside government that judicial delays are a binding constraint on India's economic ambitions. The pending cases data he cited predates his interview by several months, but the sheer volume, 4.81 crore cases across courts, has not materially improved. The real question is institutional: the Constitution gives the judiciary near-total control over its own administration, so executive-led reforms have narrow scope. Previous attempts like the National Judicial Appointments Commission were struck down. What to watch: whether the Supreme Court's in-house committee on case management announces concrete timelines or a case-clearing drive, which would signal whether the judiciary accepts Ahluwalia's challenge to lead its own reform. Watch for: the next quarterly National Judicial Data Grid update, which will show whether the pendency numbers are rising or falling. ## Coverage - businesstoday.in The article reports Ahluwalia's criticism and other officials' data without editorialising or taking sides, attributing all claims and presenting competing views. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Arjun Ram Meghwal, judicial reforms, Justice MM Sundresh, labour laws, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Supreme Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/montek-singh-ahluwalia-calls-judicial-system-an-unbelievable-mess/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/montek-singh-ahluwalia-calls-judicial-system-an-unbelievable-mess/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/