MUMBAI: The new year began with a crushing backlog in district courts, with over 2.3 crore cases pending across India as on January 2. Of these, approximately 1.5 crore are criminal cases, and 72 lakh, civil.The data, compiled by the National Judicial Data Grid , comprises statistics of the district judiciary of the country, but excludes figures from family courts and courts where connectivity is not available. With 55 lakh cases, 41 lakh criminal and over 13 lakh civil, Uttar Pradesh has the highest pendency. Cases not disposed of for over a decade constitute over 13% (over 7 lakh) of the state’s total, with nearly 20 lakh cases, 36%, pending for less than two years. Maharashtra ranks second, with 31 lakh cases pending in the state’s district courts on January 2, including 20 lakh criminal and over 11 lakh civil cases. Of the state’s total, 8% or over 2.5 lakh have been pending for over 10 years, and 45% or 14.6 lakh for less than two years. The data also shows that nationally, cases pending for over 10 years comprise 10% of the total at 23 lakh, while those pending between two and five years constitute 30%.The majority of the cases —over one crore, around 43% — have been pending for less than two years. Nationwide, the number of pending cases filed by senior citizens form 3.5% of the total. Nearly 23 lakh of the pending cases were filedby women.Madhya Pradesh and Delhi have recorded a low pendency at approximately 4.6 lakh and 5 lakh, respectively. Only 1% of Delhi’s total — comprising 3.4 lakh criminal and 1.6 lakh civil cases — have been pending for over a decade.Tamil Nadu’s district courts have 9 lakh pending cases, but it departs from the nationwide trend in that it has more civil than criminal cases.