Lok Sabha Question No. 1406 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-10
Subject: Shortage of Judges in Subordinate Judiciary
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Sumalatha Ambareesh

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1406 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 10 th  FEBRUARY, 2021

## SHORTAGE OF JUDGES IN SUBORDINATE JUDICIARY

## 1406. SHRIMATI SUMALATHA AMBAREESH:

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

- (a) whether there is shortage of judges in subordinate Judiciary and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is taking any steps to expedite the appointment in subordinate Judiciary; and (c) if so, the details in this regard?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (c): A statement showing the sanctioned strength and working strength of Subordinate Judiciary  is at Annexure-I.

As  per  the  Constitutional  framework,  the  selection  and  appointment  of judges  in  Subordinate  Courts  is  the  responsibility  of  the  High  Courts  and  State Governments concerned.  In so far as recruitment of judicial officers in the States is  concerned,  respective  High  Courts  do  it  in  certain  States,  whereas  the  High Courts do  it  in  consultation  with  the  State  Public  Service  Commissions  in  other States.

The  Supreme  Court,  through  a  judicial  order  in  Malik  Mazhar  case,  has devised a process and time frame to be followed for the filling up of vacancies in subordinate judiciary.  This order of January 2007 by the Supreme Court stipulates that  the  process  for  recruitment  of  judges  in  the  subordinate  courts  would commence on 31 st March of a calendar year and end by 31 st October of the same year.    The  Supreme  Court  has  permitted  State  Governments  /  High  Courts  for variations  in  the  time  schedule  in  case  of  any  difficulty  based  on  the  peculiar geographical and climatic conditions in the State or other relevant conditions.

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## Annexure-I

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1406  FOR  ANSWER  ON  10.02.2021 REGARDING SHORTAGE OF JUDGES IN SUBORDINATE JUDICIARY

## Statement showing the sanctioned strength and working strength of Subordinate Judiciary  as on 03.02.2021

| Sl. No.   | States &UTs         |   Total Sanctioned Strength |   Total Working Strength |   Total Vacancy |
|-----------|---------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------|-----------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh      |                         607 |                      510 |              97 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh   |                          41 |                       32 |               9 |
| 3         | Assam               |                         466 |                      412 |              54 |
| 4         | Bihar               |                        1936 |                     1424 |             512 |
| 5         | Chandigarh          |                          30 |                       26 |               4 |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh        |                         480 |                      387 |              93 |
| 7         | D &NHaveli          |                           3 |                        2 |               1 |
| 8         | Daman &Diu          |                           4 |                        4 |               0 |
| 9         | Delhi               |                         799 |                      648 |             151 |
| 10        | Goa                 |                          50 |                       40 |              10 |
| 11        | Gujarat             |                        1522 |                     1152 |             370 |
| 12        | Haryana             |                         772 |                      493 |             279 |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh    |                         175 |                      161 |              14 |
| 14        | Jammu and Kashmir   |                         296 |                      255 |              41 |
| 15        | Jharkhand           |                         675 |                      541 |             134 |
| 16        | Karnataka           |                        1357 |                     1071 |             286 |
| 17        | Kerala              |                         538 |                      470 |              68 |
| 18        | Ladakh              |                          16 |                        8 |               8 |
| 19        | Lakshadweep         |                           3 |                        3 |               0 |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh      |                        2021 |                     1610 |             411 |
| 21        | Maharashtra         |                        2190 |                     1940 |             250 |
| 22        | Manipur             |                          54 |                       36 |              18 |
| 23        | Meghalaya           |                          97 |                       49 |              48 |
| 24        | Mizoram             |                          64 |                       43 |              21 |
| 25        | Nagaland            |                          33 |                       26 |               7 |
| 26        | Odisha              |                         950 |                      756 |             194 |
| 27        | Puducherry          |                          26 |                       11 |              15 |
| 28        | Punjab              |                         692 |                      593 |              99 |
| 29        | Rajasthan           |                        1489 |                     1292 |             197 |
| 30        | Sikkim              |                          25 |                       20 |               5 |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu          |                        1298 |                     1049 |             249 |
| 32        | Telangana           |                         474 |                      378 |              96 |
| 33        | Tripura             |                         120 |                       97 |              23 |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh       |                        3634 |                     2581 |            1053 |
| 35        | Uttarakhand         |                         297 |                      255 |              42 |
| 36        | Andaman and Nicobar |                           0 |                       13 |             -13 |
| 37        | West Bengal         |                        1014 |                      918 |              96 |
| TOTAL     | TOTAL               |                       24248 |                    19306 |            4942 |