Concerned over the continuing delay in appointment of judges to High Courts (HC),the Union Ministry of Law and Justice has written to the Chief Justices of four HCs Allahabad,Gujarat,Andhra Pradesh and Punjab and Haryana to expedite the process of recommending names for elevation to the Bench. Shortage of judges is often cited as one of the main reasons for the huge backlog of cases in courts. Last year,figures released by the Supreme Court had put the total number of pending cases at over 29 lakh. The number includes cases pending in the lower courts. Allahabad,which is the countrys biggest HC with a sanctioned strength of 160 judges,has 87 vacancies on the Bench. The HC collegium last month recommended 20 names but they are yet to be cleared by the Government. The state is also way ahead of other states when it comes to the number of pending cases as well as vacant posts in the subordinate judiciary. While the Punjab and Haryana HC,with a total sanctioned strength of 68,has 20 vacancies,the Andhra Pradesh HC needs 19 more judges to fill its 49 posts. In the Gujarat HC,out of the sanctioned strength of 42 judges,12 posts are lying vacant. Letters will also be sent to some other High Courts that have a large number of vacancies. They include the Patna HC (20 vacancies),the Calcutta HC (20 vacancies) and the Bombay HC (16 vacancies).
