a) the number of posts of Judges lying vacant in various benches of High Courts in the country and the number of cases pending in various benches;
b) the time since when the posts are lying vacant and the reasons therefor and the time by which these posts are likely to be filled; and
c) the efforts being made by the Government to fill these vacancies?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS
(SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)
(a): Statement showing vacancies of Judges and number of pending cases High Court-wise is annexed.
(b) and (c): Filling up of vacancies in the High Courts is a continuous and collaborative process between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities.
As per the existing Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of Judges of High Courts (MoP), the Chief Justices of the High Courts are required to initiate the proposals for filling up of vacancies of Judges in their respective High Courts. As per the existing MoP, the Chief Justice of the High Court is required to initiate the proposals for filling up of vacancies of a Judge in a High Court six months prior to the occurrence of vacancies but this timeline is rarely adhered to. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies do keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges and also due to increase in the strength of Judges. Hence, the time frame for filling up of the vacancies cannot be indicated.
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Annexure
Statement referred to in reply to Part(a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1593 to be answered on 19.12.2018 regarding “Vacancies in High Courts”.
As on 14.12.2018
Sl. No. Name of High Court Vacancies
Pending Cases
1 Allahabad 51 721844
2 Telangana & Andhra Pradesh 34 360384
3 Bombay 23 464074
4 Calcutta 35 242635
5 Chhattisgarh 07 63013
6 Delhi 21 73612
7 Gauhati 05 40398
8 Gujarat 23 112913
9 Himachal Pradesh 05 36084
10 Jammu & Kashmir 08 91658
11 Jharkhand 06 87930
12 Karnataka 29 181706
13 Kerala 09 192633
14 Madhya Pradesh 18 330122
15 Madras 14 397933
16 Manipur 02 9167
17 Meghalaya 01 1028
18 Orissa 13 167589
19 Patna 25 150900
20 Punjab& Haryana 30 393953
21 Rajasthan 25 738585
22 Sikkim 0 252
23 Tripura 01 2891
24 Uttarakhand 02 55412
Total 387 4916716