Lok Sabha Question No. 1847 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-28
Subject: Judge Population Ratio
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: SHIVKUMAR CHANABASAPPA UDASI, VINOD KUMAR SONKAR, INNOCENT, JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN, RAMACHANDRAN MULLAPPALLY, JAYSHREEBEN  PATEL, VIRENDER KASHYAP, MEKAPATI RAJAMOHAN REDDY, KESHAV PRASAD MAURYA

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1847

TO BE ANSWERED ON THURSDAY, THE 28 TH  JULY, 2016

## Judge Population Ratio

## 1847. SHRI SHIVKUMAR UDASI:

SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR:

SHRI INNOCENT:

DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN:

SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN:

SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL:

SHRI VIRENDER KASHYAP:

SHRI M. RAJA MOHAN REDDY:

SHRI KESHAV PRASAD MAURYA:

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

- (a)  the  judges-population ratio in the country at present along with the vacancies in Supreme Court, High Court and Subordinate Courts in the Country, State / Courtwise;
- (b) the total number of pending cases in these Courts, State / Court-wise;
- (c)  whether  the  Government proposes to set up Fast Track Courts, Evening Courts, Special Courts etc . in the country to dispose of the said pending cases and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  issue  directions  to  various  Ministries  / Departments for settlement of cases pending for more than three years amongst their employees and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) the measures taken / being taken by the Government to improve judges-population ratio,  fill  up  the  vacancies  in  various  courts  and  dispose  of  the  huge  number  of pending court cases; and
- (f)  the  steps  taken  /  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  attract  young  /  talented  law graduates from reputed institutions towards judicial services in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (f): Based on the population as per Census 2011 and sanctioned strength of Judges / Judicial Officers in the Supreme Court, High Courts and District & Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2015, the judge - population ratio in the country works out to be around 18 Judges / Judicial Officers per million population.  Vacancy position of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts (High Court-wise) as on 25.07.2016 is given in the Statement at Annexure - I . Vacancy position of Judges / Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts (State / UT -wise) as on 31.12.2015 is given in the Statement at Annexure - II.

As per the information made available by the Supreme Court of India,  62,657 cases were pending in the Supreme Court as on 30.06.2016.  As per information made available by the  High  Courts,  details  of  pendency  of  cases  in  various  High  Courts  and  District  / Subordinate  Courts  as  on  31.12.2015  are  given  in  the  Statements  at Annexure - III and Annexure - IV respectively.

The subject matters relating to Subordinate Judiciary including creation of Fast Track Courts, Evening Courts, Special courts etc . fall within the domain of the State Governments and High Courts concerned.  On account of the concerted efforts made by all stakeholders the  sanctioned  strength  of  the  Judicial  Officers  of  District  and  Subordinate  Courts  has increased from 17,715 at the end of 2012 to 20,502 in December, 2015.  The sanctioned strength of High Court Judges has increased from 906 judges in June 2014 to 1079 judges in June 2016.

The Supreme Court, in the case of Imtiyaz Ahmed versus State of  Uttar  Pradesh & Others, inter-alia, asked  the  Law  Commission  of  India  to  evolve  a  method  for  scientific assessment  of  the  number  of  additional  courts  to  clear  the  backlog  of  cases.    The  Law Commission  in  its  245 th Report  recommended  'Rate  of  Disposal  Method'  for  calculating adequate judge strength for District and Subordinate Courts.  The matter is sub-judice before the Supreme Court, at present.

As per information received from Department of Personnel and Training, there is no proposal at present to issue directions to various Ministries / Departments for settlement of cases pending for more than three years amongst their employees.

Government  has  adopted  a  co-ordinated  approach  to  assist  judiciary  for  phased liquidation  of  arrears  and  pendency  in  judicial  systems,  which, inter-alia ,  involves  better infrastructure  for  courts  including  computerisation,  increase  in  strength  of  judicial  officers  / judges,  policy  and  legislative  measures  in  the  areas  prone  to  excessive  litigation  and emphasis on human resource development.

The matters relating to recruitment to the judicial services in the States fall within the domain of the High Courts and State Governments.  An agenda item for creation of a Judicial Service  Commission  to  help  the  recruitment  to  the  post  of  district  judges  and  review  of selection process of judges / judicial officers at all levels was included in the agenda for the Chief  Justices  Conference,  which  was  held  on  03 rd and  04 th April,  2015.    During  the Conference,  it  was  resolved  to  leave  it  open  to  the  respective  High  Courts  to  evolve appropriate  methods  within  the  existing  system  to  fill  up  the  vacancies  for  appointment  of District judges expeditiously.

- **************

Annexure-I STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1847 FOR ANSWER ON 28 TH  JULY, 2016.

Vacancy Position of Judges in Supreme Court and High Courts as on 25.07.2016

| Sl. No.   | Name of the Court                     | Vacancies as on 25.07.2016   |
|-----------|---------------------------------------|------------------------------|
| A.        | Supreme Court of India                | 03                           |
| B.        | High Court                            | High Court                   |
| 1         | Allahabad                             | 83                           |
| 2         | High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad | 36                           |
| 3         | Bombay                                | 30                           |
| 4         | Calcutta                              | 31                           |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh                          | 14                           |
| 6         | Delhi                                 | 25                           |
| 7         | Gauhati                               | 11                           |
| 8         | Gujarat                               | 19                           |
| 9         | Himachal Pradesh                      | 02                           |
| 10        | Jammu & Kashmir                       | 08                           |
| 11        | Jharkhand                             | 11                           |
| 12        | Karnataka                             | 35                           |
| 13        | Kerala                                | 14                           |
| 14        | Madhya Pradesh                        | 19                           |
| 15        | Madras                                | 37                           |
| 16        | Manipur                               | 01                           |
| 17        | Meghalaya                             | 01                           |
| 18        | Orissa                                | 08                           |
| 19        | Patna                                 | 26                           |
| 20        | Punjab & Haryana                      | 41                           |
| 21        | Rajasthan                             | 19                           |
| 22        | Sikkim                                | 01                           |
| 23        | Tripura                               | 0                            |
| 24        | Uttarakhand                           | 05                           |
| Total     |                                       | 477                          |

**************

Annexure - II STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1847 FOR ANSWER ON 28 TH  JULY, 2016.

## Vacancy Position of Judges in District and Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2015

| Sr. No.   | Name of State / UT                 | Vacancies as on 31.12.2015   |
|-----------|------------------------------------|------------------------------|
| 1         | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 2                            |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh & Telengana         | 249                          |
| 3         | Assam                              | 105                          |
| 4         | Bihar                              | 660                          |
| 5         | Chandigarh                         | 0                            |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh                       | 44                           |
| 7         | Daman & Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli | 1                            |
| 8         | Delhi                              | 303                          |
| 9         | Goa                                | 8                            |
| 10        | Gujarat                            | 769                          |
| 11        | Haryana                            | 170                          |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh                   | 18                           |
| 13        | Jammu and Kashmir                  | 25                           |
| 14        | Jharkhand                          | 126                          |
| 15        | Karnataka                          | 302                          |
| 16        | Kerala                             | 15                           |
| 17        | Lakshadweep                        | 0                            |
| 18        | Madhya Pradesh                     | 218                          |
| 19        | Maharashtra                        | 334                          |
| 20        | Manipur                            | 6                            |
| 21        | Meghalaya                          | 28                           |
| 22        | Mizoram                            | 33                           |
| 23        | Nagaland                           | 2                            |
| 24        | Orissa                             | 118                          |
| 25        | Puducherry                         | 12                           |
| 26        | Punjab                             | 182                          |
| 27        | Rajasthan                          | 206                          |
| 28        | Sikkim                             | 4                            |
| 29        | Tamil nadu                         | 46                           |
| 30        | Tripura                            | 36                           |
| 31        | Uttar Pradesh                      | 277                          |
| 32        | Uttarakhand                        | 74                           |
| 33        | West Bengal and A & N Islands      | 59                           |
| Total     | Total                              | 4,432                        |

**********

Annexure-III STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1847 FOR ANSWER ON 28 TH  JULY, 2016.

## Number of pending cases in High Courts as on 31.12.2015

| Sl. No   | High Court       | Number of pending cases in Courts as on 31.12.2015   | High      |
|----------|------------------|------------------------------------------------------|-----------|
| 1.       | Allahabad        |                                                      | 9,18,829  |
| 2.       | Andhra Pradesh   |                                                      | 2,70,272  |
| 3.       | Bombay           |                                                      | 2,46,441  |
| 4.       | Calcutta         |                                                      | 2,21,282  |
| 5.       | Delhi            |                                                      | 68,784    |
| 6.       | Gujarat          |                                                      | 87,072    |
| 7.       | Gauhati          |                                                      | 25,948    |
| 8.       | Himachal Pradesh |                                                      | 26,533    |
| 9.       | Jammu & Kashmir  |                                                      | 56,453    |
| 10.      | Karnataka        |                                                      | 2,37,454  |
| 11.      | Kerala           |                                                      | 1,57,369  |
| 12.      | Madras           |                                                      | 2,84,428  |
| 13.      | Madhya Pradesh   |                                                      | 2,73,827  |
| 14.      | Orissa           |                                                      | 1,69,453  |
| 15.      | Patna            |                                                      | 1,28,738  |
| 16.      | Punjab & Haryana |                                                      | 2,88,351  |
| 17.      | Rajasthan        |                                                      | 2,44,866  |
| 18.      | Sikkim           |                                                      | 114       |
| 19.      | Uttarakhand      |                                                      | 26,680    |
| 20.      | Chhattisgarh     |                                                      | 50,111    |
| 21.      | Jharkhand        |                                                      | 80,419    |
| 22.      | Tripura          |                                                      | 3,037     |
| 23.      | Manipur          |                                                      | 3,315     |
| 24.      | Meghalaya        |                                                      | 597       |
| Total    | Total            |                                                      | 38,70,373 |

***********

Annexure-IV STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1847 FOR ANSWER ON 28 TH  JULY, 2016. Number of pending cases in District and Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2015

| Sl. No   | Name of the State / UT      | Number of pending cases in District and Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2015   |
|----------|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh and Telegana | 10,31,515                                                                     |
| 2.       | Arunachal Pradesh           | 8,776                                                                         |
| 3.       | Assam                       | 2,42,503                                                                      |
| 4.       | Bihar                       | 20,73,303                                                                     |
| 5.       | Chhattisgarh                | 2,85,962                                                                      |
| 6.       | Goa                         | 39,615                                                                        |
| 7.       | Gujarat                     | 21,42,011                                                                     |
| 8.       | Haryana                     | 5,24,281                                                                      |
| 9.       | Himachal Pradesh            | 1,62,553                                                                      |
| 10.      | Jammu & Kashmir             | 1,24,763                                                                      |
| 11.      | Jharkhand                   | 3,24,357                                                                      |
| 12.      | Karnataka                   | 12,68,966                                                                     |
| 13.      | Kerala                      | 13,45,127                                                                     |
| 14.      | Madhya Pradesh              | 11,91,799                                                                     |
| 15.      | Maharashtra                 | 29,94,074                                                                     |
| 16.      | Manipur                     | 6,885                                                                         |
| 17.      | Meghalaya                   | 7,493                                                                         |
| 18.      | Mizoram                     | 4,671                                                                         |
| 19.      | Nagaland                    | 3,862                                                                         |
| 20.      | Orissa                      | 10,64,039                                                                     |
| 21.      | Punjab                      | 5,04,028                                                                      |
| 22.      | Rajasthan                   | 14,79,173                                                                     |
| 23.      | Sikkim                      | 1,299                                                                         |
| 24.      | Tamil Nadu                  | 10,82,793                                                                     |
| 25.      | Tripura                     | 1,29,789                                                                      |
| 26.      | Uttar Pradesh               | 55,74,490                                                                     |
| 27.      | Uttarakhand                 | 1,66,618                                                                      |
| 28.      | West Bengal                 | 26,18,813                                                                     |
| 29.      | A & N Island                | 9,495                                                                         |
| 30.      | Chandigarh                  | 36,322                                                                        |
| 31.      | D & N Haveli                | 3,903                                                                         |
| 32.      | Daman & Diu                 | 1,723                                                                         |
| 33.      | Delhi                       | 5,39,601                                                                      |
| 34.      | Lakshadweep                 | 380                                                                           |
| 35.      | Pondicherry                 | 24,973                                                                        |
| Total    | Total                       | 2,70,19,955                                                                   |

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