Judicial vacancies are major reason for piling ‘case’ backlog

Shailesh Gandhi, an RTI activist and former Information Commissioner studied the issue for as long as 10 years. In his decade-long study, he was surprised to note that on an average at least four lakh cases are pending in various High Courts and also in t

It is no wrong to say a delayed justice in some manner is a denied justice, as the litigants or parties seeking justice are made to wait for years and in some cases decades, altogether. The issue of pending cases in the courts right from the Apex court to the subordinate districts courts, have been under debate from a long period now. And often in this debate, a basic argument made to defend the judiciary is the large number of vacancies in the courts.

Considering the seriousness and gravity of the issue, Mumbai-based Shailesh Gandhi, an RTI activist and a former Information Commissioner studied the issue for as long as ten years. In his decade-long study, Gandhi was surprised to note that on an average at least four lakh cases are pending in various High Courts and also in the subordinate courts. He claimed the issue can be resolved only after appointing more judges to the courts.

While speaking to the Free Press Journal, Gandhi said, “If the vacancies are not left lying as it is in the judiciary for years altogether then I believe pending cases would surely reduce dramatically. Also, the government must consider increasing the sanctioned number of judges but unfortunately it is not done and often budgetary issues are cited.”

“Judicial delays are causing enormous harm to the nation and I think carelessness is one of the major reasons for the issue of judicial vacancies since it appears as if no one is concerned about it. Also, another reason I came across is the large number of retirements which are leaving several posts of judges lying vacant in various courts,” Gandhi added.

The argument of Gandhi is seconded by some former judges of the Bombay High Court. For instance, Justice (retd.) V G Palshikar, who thinks the government and the judicial officials must ensure the process of appointing new judges is expedited.

Expressing grief over the issue, Justice Palshikar said, “It is unfortunate that so much number of cases are pending before various courts and one of the reasons for it is large number of judicial vacancies.”

“Normally, the process of appointing new judges in the HC starts six months before a serving judge retires. But given the number of vacancies in all the HCs, it is surely not possible to fill up the posts within six months. And the worst part is, these vacancies never reduce so appointment of judges must be done as expeditiously as possible,” Justice Palshikar added.

Justice Palshikar believes “enough” is not done by the government to ensure vacancies are filled in time. He also supported the legislation which contemplated appointment of judges by an independent committee and not by the Collegium comprising of senior most judges of the Supreme Court of India.

“Though the Supreme Court struck down the legislation of appointment of judges to the HCs and the Apex court, the government can still come up with a modified law. I support the legislation as I believe the Collegium is already burdened with too much of judicial work so there must be an independent machinery which will oversee the appointments of judges throughout the year,"Justice Palshikar said.