Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has seen unprecedented speed in clearing its case backlog and ensuring faster trials.
In the first eight months of 2026 (January-August) alone, the Appellate Division disposed of more than 11,000 cases and the High Court Division more than 87,500. Alongside this, the formation of a special bench to handle important death reference cases, including those involving violence against women and children, has brought a positive shift to the country’s highest court.
The information was released Sunday in a press statement issued by Supreme Court public relations officer Md Shafiqul Islam.
New record for Appellate Division disposals
According to the figures, a total of 11,136 cases were disposed of in the Appellate Division between January 1 and August 31 this year, against 9,139 newly filed cases. This means around 1,997 more cases were disposed of than were filed.
The average annual disposal rate over the past five years (2021-2025) was around 6,096 cases. Yet in just the first eight months of 2026, disposals have already exceeded 11,000. Across 132 working days over those eight months, an average of about 84 cases were disposed of each day. By month, 2,705 cases were disposed of in January, 2,724 in February, 1,107 in March, 1,321 in April, 638 in May, 1,321 in June, 687 in July and 633 in August.
As a result, the number of pending cases in the Appellate Division, which stood at 41,551 at the start of the year, has fallen to 39,554 by the end of August.
Major progress in the High Court Division
The High Court Division has also seen a major jump in case disposal speed. In the first eight months of the year, a total of 87,596 cases were disposed of, averaging around 10,950 per month. That eight-month disposal figure exceeds the total disposals of any full year over the past five years. Compared with the whole of 2025 (55,756 cases), the first eight months of this year alone saw 31,840 more cases disposed of.
By quarter, 7,739 cases were disposed of in the first quarter (January-March), 27,560 in the second quarter (April-June), 32,211 in July, and 20,086 in August. As a result, pending cases in the High Court, which stood at 659,256 at the start of the year, have fallen by 12,980 to reach 646,276.
Special bench for death reference cases
A special division bench has been formed in the High Court Division to give priority to the swift disposal of death reference cases and related appeals involving violence against women and children.
Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury formed the special bench in June this year. Since its formation, the bench has disposed of 22 death reference cases on a priority basis, helping to clear a backlog of serious criminal cases that had long remained pending. The statement said this progress is playing a positive role in ensuring speedier judicial services for litigants and gradually reducing the case backlog, and that the Supreme Court remains firmly committed to maintaining this momentum.