Lok Sabha Question No. 2732 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-04
Subject: Appointment of Judges
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Vinod Kumar Sonkar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2732

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 04.12.2019

## Appointment of Judges

†2732. SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR:

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

- (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.

****

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     | Total                                                                           |                  1079 |                669 |         410 |