The highest number of dowry death cases comprising 926 such cases are pending in the Rajasthan High Court followed by 842 such cases in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, 436 cases in the Bombay High Court, 397 cases in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, 141 cases in the Himanchal Pradesh High Court, 140 in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, 71 in the Patna High Court and 35 in the Kerala High Court. As for the Karnataka High Court, the combined figure of 2064 cases is pending both in the High Court and the subordinate judiciary of the State of Karnataka.

    In the case of subordinate courts, the highest number of 4,974 dowry death cases is pending in the State of Maharashtra, followed by 2213 such cases pending in the State of Bihar, 2064 cases in the State of Karnataka, 1373 cases in the State of Andhra Pradesh, 1349 cases in the State of Madhya Pradesh, 936 cases in the State of Jharkhand, 705 cases in the State of Punjab, 152 in the State of Kerala and 85 cases in the State of Himachal Pradesh.

    While no time limit has been prescribed by law for courts to decide dowry death cases, both the Government and the Judiciary are concerned with the pendency of such cases. Meanwhile, various steps are being taken to expedite disposal of cases by the courts. These include amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure, increase in the number of judges or judicial officers, appointment of special judicial and metropolitan magistrates and setting up of fast track courts.