Question : Appointment of Judges

(a) whether the number of Judges appointed in each and every High Court of the country is less than the sanctioned strength;
(b) if so, the details thereof, high court-wise;
(c) the number of cases pending in the High Court of Uttar Pradesh during the last five years along with the court-wise details thereof;
(d) the steps being taken to dispose of/reduce the number of cases pending with the High Court of Uttar Pradesh;
(e) whether the Government has any proposal to appoint Judges in the High Court of Uttar Pradesh to meet the sanctioned strength; and
(f) if so, the time by which the Judges are likely to be appointed?

ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b): A Statement showing the Sanctioned Strength, Working Strength and Vacancies of Judges in the various High Courts of the country is at Annexure.

(c) & (d): The disposal and pending of cases in Allahabad High Court comes within the domain of judiciary. As per the information available on the National Judical Data Grid (NJDG) pendency during the last few years is given below:-

Sl. No High Court As on 31.12.2016* As on 31.12.2017** As on 21.12.2018** As on 27.11.2019**
1. Allahabad 9,16,046 Not available 7,24,726
7,31249



However, the Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases to improve access to justice in line with the mandate under Article 39A of the Constitution. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, established by the Union Government in 2011, has adopted many strategic initiatives, including improving infrastructure [court halls and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for better justice delivery, filling up of vacant positions of Judges in High Courts, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District and High Court emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases.

(e) & (f): Proposals for appointment of 13 Advocates and 19 Judicial Officers are under various stages of process as per the procedure prescribed in the Memorandum of Procedure. Filling up of vacancies in the High Courts is a collaborative and integrated process, between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities both at the Centre and State. Hence total time taken in the process of appointment cannot be indicated.
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Annexure
Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2732 to be answered on 04.12.2019 regarding ‘Appointment of Judges’. (Position as on 27.11.2019)
Sl. No. Name of the High Court Sanctioned Strength Working Strength Vacancies
1 Allahabad 160 100 60
2 Andhra Pradesh 37 15 22
3 Bombay 94 65 29
4 Calcutta 72 40 32
5 Chhattisgarh 22 15 07
6 Delhi 60 37 23
7 Gauhati 24 21 03
8 Gujarat 52 28 24
9 Himachal Pradesh 13 10 03
10 High Court for Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh 17 08 09
11 Jharkhand 25 19 06
12 Karnataka 62 40 22
13 Kerala 47 32 15
14 Madhya Pradesh 53 31 22
15 Madras 75 54 21
16 Manipur 05 04 01
17 Meghalaya 04 03 01
18 Orissa 27 14 13
19 Patna 53 27 26
20 Punjab& Haryana 85 56 29
21 Rajasthan 50 21 29
22 Sikkim 03 03 0
23 Telangana 24 13 11
24 Tripura 04 03 01
25 Uttarakhand 11 10 01
Total 1079 669 410