Some of the cases date back to 1950. Delays are blamed on a combination of factors including archaic laws, the need for additional courts and a massive shortage of judicial officers.

Singh told ABC News that reform of the judicial system should be India's top priority.

"India has to suffer the scourge of the world's largest backlog of cases," he said.

"The expeditious elimination of this scourge is the biggest challenge and should constitute the highest priority."

With 70 per cent of vacancies in India's lower courts, the difficulty of attracting skilled graduates into positions is blamed for the shortages.