Lok Sabha Question No. 174 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Vacancies in Higher Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: S. Jothimani

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 174

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 02.02.2024

## Vacancies in Higher Courts

## 174. MS. S. JOTHIMANI:

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

- (a) the  number  of  vacancies  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  High  Courts, especially for the State of Tamil Nadu;
- (b) the number of proposals recommended against the said vacancies;
- (c) the  time  since  the  collegium  of  the  Supreme  Court  recommended  the said proposals;
- (d) whether the Government is aware of the delay in judicial appointments as  well  as  transfers,  if  so,  the  reasons  therefor  and  the  action  taken  to reduce the delay; and
- (e) the reasons for non-clearance of names of judges of various High Courts recommended by the collegium of the Supreme Court?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) to (e): As on 29.01.2024, against the sanctioned strength of 34 Judges, the Supreme  Court  is  functioning  at  full  strength  and  there  is  no  vacancy.  As regards  the  High  Courts,  against  the  sanctioned  strength  of  1114  Judges,  783 Judges  are  working  and  331  post  of  Judges  are  vacant  in  the  various  High Courts. The High Court-wise detail of sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancy  as  on  29.01.2024  is  at Annexure. The  Madras  High  Court  is functioning with a strength of 67 judges, against the sanctioned strength of 75 judges, leaving 8vacancies of judges to be filled up. Out of these 8 vacancies, proposals  for  appointment  of  4  posts  of  judges  are  under  various  stages  of consideration  with  the  Government.  Recommendation  against  the  remaining vacancies is yet to be received from the High Court Collegium.

As  on  29.01.2024,  145  proposals  for  appointment  of  Judges  received from various High Court Collegiums are at various stages of processing. Out of these 145 proposals, 84 proposals were sent to the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC)  for  seeking  advice  against  which  the  SCC  has  provided  advice  on  65 proposals  which  are  at  various  stages  of  processing  in  the  Government.  19 proposals are under consideration with the SCC.   61 fresh proposals received recently are being processed for seeking the advice of the SCC. Recommendations are yet to be received from High Court Collegiums in respect of the remaining 186 vacancies. 07 proposals for transfer of Judges are under consideration of the Government.

Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed under Article 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution of India and according to the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgment of October 6, 1993 (Second Judges case) read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998 (Third Judges case). As per MoP, initiation of proposal for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. Chief Justice of the High Court  is  required  to  initiate  the  proposal  to  fill  up  vacancy  of  a  High  Court Judge six months prior to the occurrence of vacancy. However, this timeline is often not adhered to by the High Courts. All the names recommended by High Court  Collegium  are  sent  with  the  views  of  the  Government  to  the  Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for advice. Government, however, appoints only those persons as Judges of High Courts who are recommended by SCC.

Appointment of the Judges of the Constitutional Courts is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various constitutional authorities both at  state  and  central  level.As  a  result  of  the  collaborative  process  between  the Executive and Judiciary, during the year 2022, 165 Judges were appointed in various High Courts and during the year 2023, 110 Judges have been appointed in various High Courts and 34 judges have been transferred among various High Courts.

***

Statement showing Sanctioned strength, Working Strength and Vacancies of Judges  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  India  and  the High  Courts  (as  on 29.01.2024)

Sanctioned strength Working strength Vacancies

| A.   | Supreme Court    | 34   | 34   | 34    | 34   | 34   | 34    | 0    | 0    | 0     |
|------|------------------|------|------|-------|------|------|-------|------|------|-------|
| B.   | High Court       | Pmt. | Addl | Total | Pmt. | Addl | Total | Pmt. | Addl | Total |
| 1    | Allahabad        | 119  | 41   | 160   | 76   | 14   | 90    | 43   | 27   | 70    |
| 2    | Andhra Pradesh   | 28   | 9    | 37    | 22   | 8    | 30    | 6    | 1    | 7     |
| 3    | Bombay           | 71   | 23   | 94    | 40   | 29   | 69    | 31   | -6   | 25    |
| 4    | Calcutta         | 54   | 18   | 72    | 37   | 14   | 51    | 17   | 4    | 21    |
| 5    | Chhattisgarh     | 17   | 5    | 22    | 10   | 6    | 16    | 7    | -1   | 6     |
| 6    | Delhi            | 46   | 14   | 60    | 37   | 5    | 42    | 9    | 9    | 18    |
| 7    | Gauhati          | 22   | 8    | 30    | 16   | 7    | 23    | 6    | 1    | 7     |
| 8    | Gujarat          | 39   | 13   | 52    | 31   | 0    | 31    | 8    | 13   | 21    |
| 9    | Himachal Pradesh | 13   | 4    | 17    | 12   | 0    | 12    | 1    | 4    | 5     |
| 10   | J &Kand Ladakh   | 13   | 4    | 17    | 11   | 4    | 15    | 2    | 0    | 2     |
| 11   | Jharkhand        | 20   | 5    | 25    | 17   | 1    | 18    | 3    | 4    | 7     |
| 12   | Karnataka        | 47   | 15   | 62    | 39   | 12   | 51    | 8    | 3    | 11    |
| 13   | Kerala           | 35   | 12   | 47    | 32   | 4    | 36    | 3    | 8    | 11    |
| 14   | Madhya Pradesh   | 39   | 14   | 53    | 39   | 1    | 40    | 0    | 13   | 13    |
| 15   | Madras           | 56   | 19   | 75    | 54   | 13   | 67    | 2    | 6    | 8     |
| 16   | Manipur          | 4    | 1    | 5     | 4    | 0    | 4     | 0    | 1    | 1     |
| 17   | Meghalaya        | 3    | 1    | 4     | 2    | 1    | 3     | 1    | 0    | 1     |
| 18   | Orissa           | 24   | 9    | 33    | 20   | 0    | 20    | 4    | 9    | 13    |
| 19   | Patna            | 40   | 13   | 53    | 35   | 0    | 35    | 5    | 13   | 18    |
| 20   | Punjab &Haryana  | 64   | 21   | 85    | 41   | 15   | 56    | 23   | 6    | 29    |
| 21   | Rajasthan        | 38   | 12   | 50    | 34   | 0    | 34    | 4    | 12   | 16    |
| 22   | Sikkim           | 3    | 0    | 3     | 3    | 0    | 3     | 0    | 0    | 0     |
| 23   | Telangana        | 32   | 10   | 42    | 21   | 5    | 26    | 11   | 5    | 16    |
| 24   | Tripura          | 4    | 1    | 5     | 4    | 1    | 5     | 0    | 0    | 0     |
| 25   | Uttarakhand      | 9    | 2    | 11    | 6    | 0    | 6     | 3    | 2    | 5     |
|      | Total            | 840  | 274  | 1114  | 643  | 140  | 783   | 197  | 134  | 331   |