NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAR 16
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday expressed concerns over rising vacancies in high courts and strongly recommended that vacant posts of judges be filled up immediately.
“The committee is of the view that justice delivery system in the country is moving towards a stage where both vacancy positions of judges and pendency of cases are increasing year after year, and this state of affairs may erode the trust of public on the justice delivery system,” the department-related standing committee on law and personnel said in its report on demands for grants for the law ministry.
It was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
The committee said there are still a large number of vacancies of judges in the high courts, and it “strongly recommends” that the vacant positions be filled up immediately.
Vacancies arising in the future should be filled strictly as per the extant guidelines, it added.
The committee also suggested the Department of Justice in the law ministry request all stakeholders, including high court collegiums, to expedite the process of initiation of recommendations so that appointments are not delayed.
According to the Department of Justice website, as of March 1, there are 419 vacancies in 25 high courts. While the approved strength of judges is 1,080, the working strength is 661.
