Lok Sabha Question No. 2312 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Additional Benches of Patna High Court in Bihar
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Shri Manoj Kumar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2312 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 13 th  FEBRUARY, 2026

## ADDITIONAL BENCHES OF PATNA HIGH COURT IN BIHAR

## 2312. SHRI MANOJ KUMAR:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware that Bihar, with an area of 94,163 sq. km. and a population of over 13 crore across 38 districts, is the country's second most populous State;
- (b) if so, whether it is a fact that Bihar has only one Bench of the Patna High Court  at  Patna  and  that  other  States  like  Tamil  Nadu,  MP,  UP  and Assam  have more Benches;
- (c) if so, the number of pending cases and the average disposal rate of the High Courts;
- (d) the  sanctioned  strength  of  judges  and  existing  vacancies,  State  and  High Court Bench wise details;
- (e) whether the Government has set a timeframe to fill all vacancies, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) whether any proposal has been received or any plan exists to establish new Benches at Sasaram (Shahabad-Magadh), Darbhanga (Mithila-Koshi), and Purnea (Seemanchal-Ang  Pradesh),  and  if  so,  the  details  and  current  status,  if  not,  the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) and (b): Yes Sir.

(c) to (f): The number of pending cases and the disposal rate of the High Courts as on  10.02.2026  is  at Annexure-I. The  sanctioned  strength  &  vacancies  across various High Courts is at Annexure-II.

Appointment of Judges to High Courts is made under Articles 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 the MoP, the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the  concerned  High Court, in consultation with two senior-most puisne Judges of the High Court. As per the MoP,  the  High  Courts  are  required  to  make  recommendations  at  least  06 months before the occurrence of a vacancy. However, this time limit is rarely observed. For appointments to the High Courts, the views of concerned State Government are obtained in accordance with the MoP. The recommendations also  have  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  such  other  reports  as  may  be available to the Government in respect of the names under consideration. The recommendations of the High Court Collegium, the State Governments and the Government  of  India  are  then  forwarded  to  the  Supreme  Court  Collegium (SCC) for advice.

Filling up of the vacancy in the higher Judiciary 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 which are obtained in accordance with the MoP. The recommendations also have to be considered in the light of such other reports as may be available to the Government in respect of the names under consideration. The recommendations of the High Court Collegium, the State Governments and the  Government  of  India  are  then  forwarded  to  the  Supreme  Court  Collegium (SCC) for advice. Only those persons whose names have been recommended by the SCC are appointed as Judges of the High Courts.

Pendency  of  cases  in  courts  arise  due  to  several  factors  which  inter  alia, include  complexity  of  the  facts  involved,  nature  of  evidence,  co-operation  of stakeholders, viz., bar, investigation agencies, witness and litigants, the availability of  physical  infrastructure,  supporting  court  staff,  etc.  besides  the  shortage  of judges.  The  disposal  of  cases  is  within  the  exclusive  domain  of  the  judiciary. However, the Central Government is committed for speedy disposal of cases and reducing pendency as mandated under Article 21 of the Constitution and has taken several  initiatives  to  provide  an  ecosystem  for  faster  disposal  of  cases  by  the judiciary.

High Court Benches are established in accordance with the recommendations  made  by  the  Jaswant  Singh  Commission  and  judgment pronounced  by  the  Apex  Court  in  W.P.  (C)  No.  379  of  2000  and  after  due consideration of a complete proposal from the State Government which has to provide necessary expenditure and infrastructural facilities and the Chief Justice of  the  concerned  High  Court  who  is  required  to  look  after  the  day-to-day administration of the High Court. The proposal to be complete should also have the consent of the Governor of the concerned State.

At present there is no complete proposal pending with the Government of India to establish High Court Bench(es) in Bihar.

Pending Cases & Disposal Rates of Various High Courts as on 10.02.2026

| High Court                |   No. of Pending Cases |   Cases Instituted since 2018 |   Cases Disposed since 2018 |   Disposal Rate (%) |
|---------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------|
| Allahabad                 |                1207325 |                       2535189 |                     2228638 |               87.91 |
| Andhra Pradesh            |                 249222 |                        439550 |                      355722 |               80.93 |
| Bombay                    |                 665754 |                       1331691 |                     1136940 |               85.38 |
| Calcutta                  |                 195918 |                        491020 |                      525331 |              106.99 |
| Chhattisgarh              |                  75990 |                        340675 |                      324536 |               95.26 |
| Delhi                     |                 126114 |                        395486 |                      341293 |               86.3  |
| Gauhati                   |                  64076 |                        234078 |                      207042 |               88.45 |
| Gujarat                   |                 174537 |                        625241 |                      553320 |               88.5  |
| Himachal Pradesh          |                 104139 |                        400796 |                      330469 |               82.45 |
| Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh |                  43291 |                        112470 |                      135986 |              120.91 |
| Jharkhand                 |                  73000 |                        333927 |                      349607 |              104.7  |
| Karnataka                 |                 329810 |                        744467 |                      633042 |               85.03 |
| Kerala                    |                 249495 |                        727259 |                      660138 |               90.77 |
| Madhya Pradesh            |                 481480 |                       1131327 |                      961057 |               84.95 |
| Madras                    |                 549937 |                       2502092 |                     2484699 |               99.3  |
| Manipur                   |                   5933 |                         22375 |                       21001 |               93.86 |
| Meghalaya                 |                   1760 |                         11391 |                       10605 |               93.1  |
| Orissa                    |                 162205 |                        761193 |                      764499 |              100.43 |
| Patna                     |                 219597 |                        944381 |                      867846 |               91.9  |
| Punjab &Haryana           |                 413963 |                       1141947 |                     1083928 |               94.92 |
| Rajasthan                 |                 670681 |                       1587045 |                     1652106 |              104.1  |
| Sikkim                    |                    295 |                          1449 |                        1363 |               94.06 |
| Telangana                 |                 235767 |                        511580 |                      464608 |               90.82 |
| Tripura                   |                   1390 |                         18904 |                       20308 |              107.43 |
| Uttarakhand               |                  60497 |                        157050 |                      128582 |               81.87 |

Source: National Judicial Data Grid

## ANNEXURE-II

## Sanctioned  strength,  working  strength,  vacancies  of  Judges  in  High  Courts  (As  on 09.02.2026)

| B.   | High Court       |   Sanctioned Strength |   Working Strength |   Vacancy |
|------|------------------|-----------------------|--------------------|-----------|
| 1    | Allahabad        |                   160 |                109 |        51 |
| 2    | Andhra Pradesh   |                    37 |                 32 |         5 |
| 3    | Bombay           |                    94 |                 80 |        14 |
| 4    | Calcutta         |                    72 |                 43 |        29 |
| 5    | Chhattisgarh     |                    22 |                 15 |         7 |
| 6    | Delhi            |                    60 |                 44 |        16 |
| 7    | Gauhati          |                    30 |                 25 |         5 |
| 8    | Gujarat          |                    52 |                 35 |        17 |
| 9    | Himachal Pradesh |                    17 |                 12 |         5 |
| 10   | J &Kand Ladakh   |                    25 |                 14 |        11 |
| 11   | Jharkhand        |                    25 |                 14 |        11 |
| 12   | Karnataka        |                    62 |                 46 |        16 |
| 13   | Kerala           |                    47 |                 40 |         7 |
| 14   | Madhya Pradesh   |                    53 |                 42 |        11 |
| 15   | Madras           |                    75 |                 53 |        22 |
| 16   | Manipur          |                     5 |                  3 |         2 |
| 17   | Meghalaya        |                     4 |                  4 |         0 |
| 18   | Orissa           |                    33 |                 19 |        14 |
| 19   | Patna            |                    53 |                 38 |        15 |
| 20   | Punjab &Haryana  |                    85 |                 61 |        24 |
| 21   | Rajasthan        |                    50 |                 39 |        11 |
| 22   | Sikkim           |                     3 |                  3 |         0 |
| 23   | Telangana        |                    42 |                 28 |        14 |
| 24   | Tripura          |                     5 |                  4 |         1 |
| 25   | Uttarakhand      |                    11 |                 10 |         1 |
|      | Total            |                  1122 |                813 |       309 |