Corruption Case Load Increases at Denpasar District Court, Reaching 12 Cases Per Day
The Denpasar District Court (PN Denpasar) is facing a surge in the workload of corruption criminal cases. The Chairman of PN Denpasar, Putu Gde Novyartha, stated that up to 12 cases transferred from the prosecutor’s office can arrive in a single day.
“Hopefully, in the future, we can handle this better, because corruption seems to be increasing. Just the cases transferred from the prosecutor’s office alone can reach 12 in one day,” said Novyartha on Tuesday (1/9/2026).
This surge in cases presents a challenge for Novyartha, who was recently inaugurated as the Chairman of PN Denpasar, succeeding Iman Luqmanul Hakim. The high volume of cases is expected to impact the duration of trials.
Novyartha noted that PN Denpasar must increase trial hours to catch up with the incoming cases. Trials may even be held late into the evening.
“Hopefully, we are given the ability and strength to resolve them. Because the trial process will be long. Trials might continue until late at night,” he said.
To expedite the resolution of cases, PN Denpasar is also utilising Fridays to hold additional court sessions.
The corruption case load at PN Denpasar is also evident from trends over the last two years. Previously reported data shows corruption cases increased from 30 cases in 2024 to 36 cases in 2025, representing an increase of approximately 20 per cent in one year.
Data from the Case Tracking Information System (SIPP) of PN Denpasar also shows that corruption cases continue to arrive throughout 2026. As of the update on 1 September 2026, SIPP recorded 10 corruption cases with registration numbers ranging from 5/Pid.Sus-TPK/2026/PN Dps to 14/Pid.Sus-TPK/2026/PN Dps.
These cases began registering in February 2026. Two cases entered on 13 February, followed by one case on 18 February. In March, there were two new cases, followed by four cases in April and another in May 2026.
Thus, until May 2026, at least 10 corruption cases were recorded in the current year’s case register in the PN Denpasar SIPP.
However, these figures do not reflect the entirety of corruption cases ever handled by PN Denpasar. The SIPP PN Denpasar also displays hundreds of corruption cases in its overall database, including cases from previous years. Therefore, these figures cannot be strictly defined as the total number of new corruption cases throughout 2026.
Several cases registered in 2026 have already entered advanced stages. Some cases have reached the stage of minuting or notification of the verdict, while others are still undergoing the trial process through to the sentencing or legal appeal stages.
Despite the increasing case load, Novyartha emphasised that this situation must not compromise the integrity of the judicial process. He ensured that judges and the staff of PN Denpasar remain committed to conducting trials without any illicit transactions.
“We are committed to maintaining integrity. We will certainly uphold justice; there are no transactions involved in conducting these trials,” he asserted.
Novyathra stated that handling corruption cases will be one of the primary focuses during his leadership. He noted that the court must be able to resolve incoming cases while ensuring that the trial process continues to operate according to the principles of fair and high-integrity justice.