Lok Sabha Question No. 2111 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Vacant Sanctioned Posts in Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Badruddin Ajmal, Ashok Kumar Rawat, Beesetti  Venkata Satyavathi, Abdul Khaleque

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2111 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## VACANT SANCTIONED POSTS IN COURTS

## 2111. SHRI M. BADRUDDIN AJMAL:

SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT:

DR. BEESETTI VENKATA SATYAVATHI:

SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE:

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

- (a) whether a large number of sanctioned posts of judges are laying vacant in the courts  of  the  country  including  Supreme  Court,  High  Courts  and  subordinate courts;
- (b) if so, the details of sanctioned and vacant posts of judges at present indicating the time since when they are lying vacant and the reasons therefor,court-wise and
- State-wise;
- (c)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  to  fill  the  vacant  posts  of  judges  timely  given  the delay in delivering justice to the victims for lack of judges;
- (d) whether the Government contemplates to increase the number of judges in the High courts to avoid tendency of cases pending there; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, thereasons therefor?

## 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 (c): As  on  11.12.2023,  against  the  sanctioned  strength  of  34  Judges  in  the Supreme Court of India (including Chief Justice of India), 34 Judges are working and there is no vacancy of Judges in the Supreme Court.

As regards the High Courts, against the sanctioned strength of 1114 Judges, 790 Judges are working and 324 post of Judges are vacant in the various High Courts. A detailed  statement  showing  High  Court  wise  vacancy  position  as  on  11.12.2023  is  at Annexure-I .

Further, there are 5,443  vacancies  of  judicial  officers in the District  and Subordinate  Judiciary  as  on  11.12.2023.  A  detailed  statement  showing  State-wise vacancy position in District and Subordinate Judiciary as on 11.12.2023 is at AnnexureII .

Appointment of the Judges of Supreme Court and High 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. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies  of  Judges  in  High  Courts  do  keep  on  arising  on  account  of  retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges and also due to increase in the strength of Judges.

In case of recruitment and appointment of judicial officers in District Courts/Subordinate judiciary, the Central Government has no role under the Constitution. The  filling  up  vacant  posts  of judicial officers in the District  and Subordinate  Courts  is  the  responsibility  of  the  High  Courts  and  State  Governments concerned.  In  some  States,  the  respective  High  Courts  undertake  the  recruitment process,  whereas  in  other  States,  the  High  Courts  do  it  in  consultation  with  the  State Public  Service  Commissions.Vide  judicial  order  passed  in  January  2007  in  the  Malik Mazhar Sultan case, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has stipulated certain timelines which are  to  be  followed  by  the  states  and  the  respective  High  Courts  for  initiating  the recruitment process of judges in subordinate courts.

(d) & (e): The  Government  is  committed  towards  speedy  delivery  of  Justice.  As  a result of the collaborative process between the Executive and Judiciary, during the year 2022, 165 Judges were appointed in various High Courts which isa significant number of appointments in one year. 110 Judges have been appointed in various High Courts in the year 2023 as on 11.12.2023. Also, from 2014 till 11.12.2023, the sanctioned strength of High Court judges has increased from906 to 1114. For the District and Subordinate Courts,  the  sanctioned  strength  of  judicial  officers  has  also  increased  from  19,518  in year 2014 to the present 25,439 as on 11.12.2023. Similarly the working strength at the district and subordinate judiciary level has been increased from 15115 in the year 2014 to the present 20017 as on 11.12.2023

The pendency of cases in courts is not only due to shortage of judges in various Courts  but  also  a  result  of  several  other  factors  like  increase  in  number  of  state  and central legislations, accumulation  of  first appeals, continuation of ordinary civil jurisdiction  in  some  of  the  High  Courts,  appeals  against  the  orders  of  quasi-judicial forums  going  to  High  Courts,  number  of  revisions/appeals,  frequent  adjournments, indiscriminate  use  of  the  writ  jurisdiction,  lack  of  adequate  arrangements  to  monitor, tracking and bunching of cases for hearing, vacation period of Courts, assigning of work of administrative nature to the Judges, etc.

********

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) OF LOK SABHAUNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2111  FOR  ANSWER  ON  15.12.2023  REGARDING 'VACANT SANCTIONED POSTS IN COURTS'.

Sanction and Working Strength of Judicial Officers in High Courts as on 11.12.2023.

| Sl. No.   | High Court       |   Sanctioned strength |   Working strength |   Vacancies |
|-----------|------------------|-----------------------|--------------------|-------------|
| 1.        | Allahabad        |                   160 |                 91 |          69 |
| 2.        | Andhra Pradesh   |                    37 |                 30 |          07 |
| 3.        | Bombay           |                    94 |                 69 |          25 |
| 4.        | Calcutta         |                    72 |                 52 |          20 |
| 5.        | Chhattisgarh     |                    22 |                 15 |          07 |
| 6.        | Delhi            |                    60 |                 43 |          17 |
| 7.        | Gauhati          |                    30 |                 24 |          06 |
| 8.        | Gujarat          |                    52 |                 31 |          21 |
| 9.        | Himachal Pradesh |                    17 |                 12 |          05 |
| 10.       | J&K &Ladakh      |                    17 |                 15 |          02 |
| 11.       | Jharkhand        |                    25 |                 19 |          06 |
| 12.       | Karnataka        |                    62 |                 52 |          10 |
| 13.       | Kerala           |                    47 |                 36 |          11 |
| 14.       | Madhya Pradesh   |                    53 |                 40 |          13 |
| 15.       | Madras           |                    75 |                 67 |          08 |
| 16.       | Manipur          |                     5 |                 04 |          01 |
| 17.       | Meghalaya        |                     4 |                 03 |          01 |
| 18.       | Orissa           |                    33 |                 20 |          13 |
| 19.       | Patna            |                    53 |                 35 |          18 |
| 20.       | Punjab &Haryana  |                    85 |                 57 |          28 |
| 21.       | Rajasthan        |                    50 |                 34 |          16 |
| 22.       | Sikkim           |                     3 |                 03 |          00 |
| 23.       | Telangana        |                    42 |                 26 |          16 |
| 24.       | Tripura          |                     5 |                 05 |          00 |
| 25.       | Uttarakhand      |                    11 |                 07 |          04 |
| Total     | Total            |                  1114 |                790 |         324 |

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) OF LOK SABHAUNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2111  FOR  ANSWER  ON  15.12.2023  REGARDING 'VACANT SANCTIONED POSTS IN COURTS'.

Sanction  and  Working  Strength  of  Judicial  Officers  in  District  and  Subordinate  Judiciary  as  on 11.12.2023.

| Sl. No.                       | States &UTs                   | Total Sanctioned Strength   | Total Working Strength   | Total Vacancy   |
|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------|-----------------|
| 1.                            | Andhra Pradesh                | 618                         | 535                      | 83              |
| 2.                            | Arunachal Pradesh             | 44                          | 34                       | 10              |
| 3.                            | Assam                         | 485                         | 439                      | 46              |
| 4.                            | Bihar                         | 2016                        | 1543                     | 473             |
| 5.                            | Chandigarh                    | 30                          | 29                       | 1               |
| 6.                            | Chhattisgarh                  | 562                         | 423                      | 139             |
| 7.                            | D &NHaveli                    | 3                           | 2                        | 1               |
| 8.                            | Daman &Diu                    | 4                           | 4                        | 0               |
| 9.                            | Delhi                         | 887                         | 798                      | 89              |
| 10.                           | Goa                           | 50                          | 40                       | 10              |
| 11.                           | Gujarat                       | 1720                        | 1175                     | 545             |
| 12.                           | Haryana                       | 772                         | 564                      | 208             |
| 13.                           | Himachal Pradesh              | 179                         | 158                      | 21              |
| 14.                           | Jammu and Kashmir             | 317                         | 223                      | 94              |
| 15.                           | Jharkhand                     | 693                         | 500                      | 193             |
| 16.                           | Karnataka                     | 1375                        | 1150                     | 225             |
| 17.                           | Kerala                        | 605                         | 514                      | 91              |
| 18.                           | Ladakh                        | 17                          | 10                       | 7               |
| 19.                           | Lakshadweep                   | 4                           | 3                        | 1               |
| 20.                           | Madhya Pradesh                | 2028                        | 1734                     | 294             |
| 21.                           | Maharashtra                   | 2190                        | 1940                     | 250             |
| 22.                           | Manipur                       | 59                          | 49                       | 10              |
| 23.                           | Meghalaya                     | 99                          | 57                       | 42              |
| 24.                           | Mizoram                       | 74                          | 41                       | 33              |
| 25.                           | Nagaland                      | 34                          | 24                       | 10              |
| 26.                           | Odisha                        | 1008                        | 803                      | 205             |
| 27.                           | Puducherry                    | 29                          | 10                       | 19              |
| 28.                           | Punjab                        | 797                         | 585                      | 212             |
| 29.                           | Rajasthan                     | 1638                        | 1342                     | 296             |
| 30.                           | Sikkim                        | 35                          | 23                       | 12              |
| 31.                           | Tamil Nadu                    | 1371                        | 1040                     | 331             |
| 32.                           | Telangana                     | 560                         | 445                      | 115             |
| 33.                           | Tripura                       | 128                         | 108                      | 20              |
| 34.                           | Uttar Pradesh                 | 3696                        | 2449                     | 1247            |
| 35.                           | Uttarakhand                   | 298                         | 271                      | 27              |
| 36.                           | West Bengal                   |                             | 931*                     | 83*             |
| 37. Andaman and Nicobar TOTAL | 37. Andaman and Nicobar TOTAL | 1014* 25439                 | 19996                    | 5443            |