Lok Sabha Question No. 1410 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-19
Subject: Vacancies of Judicial Officers
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: B.V. NAYAK, PRATHAP SIMHA, SHOBHA KARANDLAJE, S.P. MUDDAHANUMEGOWDA

## 1410. SHRI B.V. NAIK:

SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA: KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE: SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA:

## Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  sanctioned  strength  and  vacancies  for  Judicial  Officers  and  Prosecutors,
- State, Rank and Court-wise;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to reduce the gap between their sanctioned and actual strength;
- (c)  the  total  number  of  training  academies/institutes  with  their  trainee  capacities available for the training of Judicial Officers and Prosecutors, Statewise;
- (d) the total number of Judicial Officers and Prosecutors who have been imparted basic training during the last three years, State-wise and rank-wise;
- (e)whether it is a fact that the appointment of Judges and Judicial Officers in the District  and  Subordinate  Courts  fall  within  the  domain  of  the  High  Courts  and State Governments concerned; and
- (f) whether the Government has suggested certain options to the Hon'ble Supreme Court for creation of a central selection mechanism to expedite and rationalise the process of selection and the responses / suggestions of States and UTs in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

- (a) : Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts are recruited and appointed by the respective  High  Courts  and  State  Governments.    Prosecutors  are  also  recruited  and appointed by the respective State Governments.  As per the information made available by the  State  Governments  /  High  Courts,  State  /  UT-wise  and  category-wise  details  of sanctioned strength and vacancies of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts are given in Statement at Annexure - I.
- (b) & (e): As per the Constitutional framework, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate  courts  is  the  responsibility  of  the  High  Courts  and  State  Governments

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1410

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 19 th  DECEMBER, 2018.

## Vacancies of Judicial Officers

concerned.  In so far as recruitment of judicial officers in the States is concerned, in certain States recruitment is done by the High Courts, whereas in other States, the recruitment is done by High Courts in consultation with State Public Service Commission.

In August, 2018, the Minister of Law & Justice had written to  all the Chief Justices of all the High Courts that increasing pendency of cases is a source of concern both the Government and Judiciary;  one  of  the  underlying  reasons  behind  the  high  pendency  is sometimes  the  inordinate  delay  in  filling  up  the  vacancies  of  judicial  officers.    It  was, accordingly,  requested  that  the  High  Court  may  monitor  the  status  of  the  vacancies regularly and to ensure proper coordination with the state Public Service Commission so that the examination and interviews are conducted in accordance with the time schedule prescribed by the Supreme Court in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case.

(c) & (d): As per the information available, a list of National and State Judicial Academies is given in Statement at Annexure - II .    The Central Government does not maintain the details of trainings imparted to the Judicial Officers and Prosecutors.

(f) : The appointment of Judges and Judicial Officers in the District and Subordinate Courts falls within the domain of the High Courts and State Governments concerned in which the Central Government has no role.  However, in order to facilitate regular filling up of these vacancies in a smooth and time-bound manner, the Department of Justice vide its  letter dated 28 th April, 2017 suggested certain options to the Hon'ble Supreme Court for creation of a Central Selection Mechanism.  The Hon'ble Supreme Court suo motu converted the Government's  suggestions  into  a  writ  petition  on  09 th May,  2017  and  directed  all  State Governments (including Union Territories) to file their responses and suggestions by way of affidavits.  The above matter is subjudice at present.

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## Annexure - I

## Statement  referred  to  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  1410  for  reply  on  19 th December, 2018.

## Category-wise  Sanctioned  Strength  and  Vacancies  of  Judicial  Officers  of  District and Subordinate Courts as on 30.09.2018.

| Sr. No.   | Name of State / UT           | Number of Officers of Judicial Service as   | Number of Officers of Judicial Service as   | Judicial Higher on Number of Judicial Officers of Subordinate Judicial Service as on 30.09.2018 Total Sanctioned Strength as on 30.09.2018   | Judicial Higher on Number of Judicial Officers of Subordinate Judicial Service as on 30.09.2018 Total Sanctioned Strength as on 30.09.2018   | Judicial Higher on Number of Judicial Officers of Subordinate Judicial Service as on 30.09.2018 Total Sanctioned Strength as on 30.09.2018   | Total Vacancy as on 30.09.2018   |
|-----------|------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|           |                              | 30.09.2018 Sanctioned Strength              | Vacancy                                     | Sanctioned Strength                                                                                                                          | Vacancy                                                                                                                                      |                                                                                                                                              |                                  |
| 1         | Andaman & Nicobar Islands    | 4                                           | 0                                           | 7                                                                                                                                            | 0                                                                                                                                            | 11                                                                                                                                           | 0                                |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh and Telangana | 234                                         | 22                                          | 753                                                                                                                                          | 75                                                                                                                                           | 987                                                                                                                                          | 97                               |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh            | 10                                          | 3                                           | 20                                                                                                                                           | 2                                                                                                                                            | 30                                                                                                                                           | 5                                |
| 4         | Assam                        | 111                                         | 14                                          | 319                                                                                                                                          | 33                                                                                                                                           | 430                                                                                                                                          | 47                               |
| 5         | Bihar                        | 557                                         | 227                                         | 1288                                                                                                                                         | 395                                                                                                                                          | 1845                                                                                                                                         | 622                              |
| 6         | Chandigarh                   | 10                                          | 0                                           | 20                                                                                                                                           | 0                                                                                                                                            | 30                                                                                                                                           | 0                                |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                 | 218                                         | 72                                          | 234                                                                                                                                          | -17                                                                                                                                          | 452                                                                                                                                          | 55                               |
| 8         | Daman and Diu                | 0                                           | 0                                           | 4                                                                                                                                            | 0                                                                                                                                            | 4                                                                                                                                            | 0                                |
| 9         | Dadra and Nagar Haveli       | 0                                           | 0                                           | 3                                                                                                                                            | 0                                                                                                                                            | 3                                                                                                                                            | 0                                |
| 10        | Delhi                        | 276                                         | 15                                          | 523                                                                                                                                          | 243                                                                                                                                          | 799                                                                                                                                          | 258                              |
| 11        | Goa                          | 11                                          | 1                                           | 39                                                                                                                                           | 7                                                                                                                                            | 50                                                                                                                                           | 8                                |
| 12        | Gujarat                      | 374                                         | 96                                          | 1132                                                                                                                                         | 260                                                                                                                                          | 1506                                                                                                                                         | 356                              |
| 13        | Haryana                      | 200                                         | 21                                          | 451                                                                                                                                          | 141                                                                                                                                          | 651                                                                                                                                          | 162                              |
| 14        | Himachal Pradesh             | 49                                          | 5                                           | 110                                                                                                                                          | 5                                                                                                                                            | 159                                                                                                                                          | 10                               |
| 15        | Jammu & Kashmir              | 78                                          | 14                                          | 232                                                                                                                                          | 72                                                                                                                                           | 310                                                                                                                                          | 86                               |
| 16        | Jharkhand                    | 237                                         | 75                                          | 439                                                                                                                                          | 141                                                                                                                                          | 676                                                                                                                                          | 216                              |
| 17        | Karnataka                    | 346                                         | 71                                          | 961                                                                                                                                          | 160                                                                                                                                          | 1307                                                                                                                                         | 231                              |
| 18        | Kerala*                      | 154                                         | 20                                          | 342                                                                                                                                          | 43                                                                                                                                           | 496                                                                                                                                          | 63                               |
| 19        | Lakshadweep*                 | 1                                           | 0                                           | 2                                                                                                                                            | 0                                                                                                                                            | 3                                                                                                                                            | 0                                |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh               | 681                                         | 139                                         | 1191                                                                                                                                         | 372                                                                                                                                          | 1872                                                                                                                                         | 511                              |
| 21        | Maharashtra                  | 389                                         | 66                                          | 1622                                                                                                                                         | 101                                                                                                                                          | 2011                                                                                                                                         | 167                              |
| 22        | Manipur                      | 24                                          | 7                                           | 31                                                                                                                                           | 8                                                                                                                                            | 55                                                                                                                                           | 15                               |
| 23        | Meghalaya                    | 46                                          | 35                                          | 51                                                                                                                                           | 23                                                                                                                                           | 97                                                                                                                                           | 58                               |
| 24        | Mizoram                      | 17                                          | 4                                           | 50                                                                                                                                           | 17                                                                                                                                           | 67                                                                                                                                           | 21                               |
| 25        | Nagaland                     | 14                                          | 3                                           | 19                                                                                                                                           | 4                                                                                                                                            | 33                                                                                                                                           | 7                                |
| 26        | Orissa                       | 204                                         | 36                                          | 707                                                                                                                                          | 120                                                                                                                                          | 911                                                                                                                                          | 156                              |
| 27        | Puducherry                   | 8                                           | 1                                           | 18                                                                                                                                           | 6                                                                                                                                            | 26                                                                                                                                           | 7                                |
| 28        | Punjab                       | 191                                         | 18                                          | 483                                                                                                                                          | 126                                                                                                                                          | 674                                                                                                                                          | 144                              |
| 29        | Rajasthan                    | 551                                         | 148                                         | 786                                                                                                                                          | 81                                                                                                                                           | 1337                                                                                                                                         | 229                              |
| 30        | Sikkim                       | 13                                          | 3                                           | 10                                                                                                                                           | 1                                                                                                                                            | 23                                                                                                                                           | 4                                |
| 31        | Tamilnadu*                   | 280                                         | 81                                          | 863                                                                                                                                          | 157                                                                                                                                          | 1143                                                                                                                                         | 238                              |
| 32        | Tripura                      | 31                                          | 7                                           | 84                                                                                                                                           | 33                                                                                                                                           | 115                                                                                                                                          | 40                               |
| 33        | Uttar Pradesh                | 1336                                        | 394                                         |                                                                                                                                              |                                                                                                                                              | 3225                                                                                                                                         | 1188                             |
| 34        | Uttarakhand                  | 100                                         | 18                                          | 1889 193                                                                                                                                     | 794 41                                                                                                                                       | 293                                                                                                                                          | 59                               |
| 35        | West Bengal                  | 281                                         | 30                                          | 732                                                                                                                                          | 45                                                                                                                                           | 1013                                                                                                                                         | 75                               |
| Total     | Total                        | 7036                                        | 1646                                        | 15608                                                                                                                                        | 3489                                                                                                                                         | 22644                                                                                                                                        | 5135                             |

*As on 30.06.2018

## Annexure - II th

## Statement  referred  to  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  1410  for  reply  on  19 December, 2018.

## List of Judicial Academies

1.  National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
2.  Judicial Training & Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh.
3.  Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy
4.  Maharashtra Judicial Academy, Thane.
5.  West Bengal Judicial Academy.
6.  Chhattisgarh State Judicial Acadey.
7.  Delhi Judicial Academy, New Delhi.
8.  Assam State Judicial Academy.
9.  Gujarat State Judicial Academy.
10.  Himachal Pradesh Judicial Academy.
11.  Jammu & Kashmir State Judicial Academy.
12.  Judicial Academy, Jharkhand.
13.  Karnataka Judicial Academy
14.  Kerala Judicial Academy
15.  Madhya Pradesh State Judicial Academy.
16.  Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy.
17.  Odisha Judicial Academy
18.  Bihar Judicial Academy
19.  Chandigarh Judicial Academy
20.  Rajasthan State Judicial Academy
21.  Uttarakhand Judicial and Legal Academy.
22.  Sikkim Judicial Academy.

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