Examine the reasons for chronic delays in trial of corruption cases investigated by the CBI. Suggest measures to improve conviction rates and reduce case pendency.

The CVC's latest annual report records 7,229 CBI-probed cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 pending trial as on 31 December 2025, with 409 stuck for over 20 years [1]. Such delay converts even successful investigation into denied justice, blunting deterrence in probity in governance.

Reasons for chronic delay

• Institutional capacity deficit: CBI carries 1,088 vacancies against a sanctioned strength of 7,300, the largest gap (672) in executive investigating ranks — directly slowing case progress [1].
• Investigation-stage lag: of 679 regular cases pending investigation, 274 exceeded one year, delaying filing of charge sheets [1].
• Shortage of dedicated special courts: PC Act trials compete with a wider docket; CBI courts handle 11,510 cases pending trial overall [1]. General judicial backlog is tracked on the National Judicial Data Grid [2].
• Appellate clogging: 14,083 appeals, revisions and writ petitions under the PC Act pend before High Courts and the Supreme Court, freezing final outcomes [1].
• Procedural hurdles: prior sanction requirements retained under the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018, plus repeated adjournments and witness turnover, stretch trials [3].

Measures

• Fill CBI vacancies and create dedicated prosecution cadres with forensic and financial-audit support.
• Expand exclusive PC Act special courts with day-to-day hearings and judge-wise pendency monitoring.
• Time-bound decisions on sanction for prosecution, as urged by the Second ARC's Ethics in Governance report [4].
• Strengthen witness protection and use video-conferencing to cut adjournments.

Encouragingly, the conviction rate rose from 69.14% (2024) to 71.71% (2025) [1], showing that quality investigation pays. Pairing that gain with judicial capacity and administrative accountability can make anti-corruption enforcement swift, credible and citizen-affirming.