Lok Sabha Question No. 3545 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-13
Subject: Appointment of Judges in High Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Shri Pushpendra Saroj

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3545 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 13 TH  MARCH, 2026

## APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES IN HIGH COURTS

## 3545.  SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ:

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

- (a) the  sanctioned  strength,  working  strength,  and  number  of  vacancies  of judges in all High Courts and the duration of the vacancy, classified social category-wise, along with specific data for the Allahabad High Court;
- (b) the number of judicial appointment recommendations from the Collegium presently  pending  with  the  Government  in  respect  of  the Allahabad  High Court, the duration for which each recommendation has been pending and the reasons for the delay;
- (c) the total pendency of cases before the Allahabad High Court during the said period  and  the  correlation,  if  any,  between  judicial  vacancies  and  the increase in pendency;
- (d) the  number  of  appointments  returned  for  reconsideration  and  the  timeline followed for final decision thereafter; and
- (e) the institutional or coordination measures introduced to ensure time-bound processing of judicial appointments and reduction of vacancies?

## 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) to (e): Appointment of Judges to High Courts is made under Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution of India, which do not provide for reservation for any caste or class  of  persons.  Therefore,  category-wise  data  pertaining  to  representation  of  any caste  or  class  of  persons  among  the  Judges  of  the  High  Courts  is  not  centrally available.  Since  2018,  the  recommendees  for  the  post  of  High  Court  Judges  are required to provide details regarding their social background in the prescribed format (prepared in consultation with the Supreme Court). As per the information provided by  the  recommendees,  out  of  849  Judges  appointed  from  2018  till  09.03.2026,  33 belong to SC category, 17 belong to ST category, 104 belong to OBC category and 46 belong  to  the  minority  category.  The  information  relating  to  sanctioned  strength, working strength and vacancies in High Courts is at Annexure-I .

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.

Filling up of the vacancy in the higher Judiciary is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the executive and the judiciary. As per 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), 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.  Only  those  persons  whose  names have been recommended by the SCC are appointed as Judges of the High Courts. As on  06.03.2026,  against  the  sanctioned  strength  of  1122  Judges,  810  Judges  are working  and  312  posts  of  Judges  are  vacant  in  various  High  Courts. Against  these vacancies, 132 proposals for appointment of High Court Judges are at various stages of processing between the Government and the Supreme Court Collegium.

Through  this  continuous,  integrated  and  collaborative  process  between  the executive and the judiciary, 157 Judges were appointed in various High Courts during 2025.

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## Annexure-I

Sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancy of Judges in High Courts as on 06.03.2026

| Sl. No.   | High Court       |   Sanctioned Strength |   Working Strength |   Vacancies |
|-----------|------------------|-----------------------|--------------------|-------------|
| 1         | Allahabad        |                   160 |                109 |          51 |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh   |                    37 |                 33 |           4 |
| 3         | Bombay           |                    94 |                 80 |          14 |
| 4         | Calcutta         |                    72 |                 42 |          30 |
| 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 |                 39 |           8 |
| 14        | Madhya Pradesh   |                    53 |                 42 |          11 |
| 15        | Madras           |                    75 |                 52 |          23 |
| 16        | Manipur          |                     5 |                  3 |           2 |
| 17        | Meghalaya        |                     4 |                  4 |           0 |
| 18        | Orissa           |                    33 |                 19 |          14 |
| 19        | Patna            |                    53 |                 37 |          16 |
| 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 |                810 |         312 |