Suggest names for judges: CJI to HC chief justices
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Friday implored chief justices of high courts to make recommendations for appointment of judges “at the earliest”.
Chairing the conference of chief justices of high courts which was organised after a gap of six years, the CJI highlighted the huge vacancies of judges across the 25 high courts in the country and urged chief justices to forward names for elevation to the high courts without delay.
“I request the chief justices of high courts, which are still having
numbers of vacancies, to forward the names for elevation at the earliest,” said justice Ramana while inaugurating the 39th chapter of the conference of high court chief justices. The conference was also attended by the two most-senior Supreme Court judges, justices Uday U Lalit and AM Khanwilkar.
As on April 1, 25 high courts in the country have 35% of their positions vacant. According to data available with the Department of Justice, of the total sanctioned strength of 1104 judges, there are 387 vacancies.
Some HC have massive vacancies: Patna (49%), Rajasthan (48%), Calcutta (45%), Allahabad (41%), Delhi (42%), Punjab and Haryana (42%) and Bombay (39%).
The CJI pointed out that vacancies in the HCs is one of the crucial issues that must be deliberated upon during the conference, even as he recounted that he took up the issue during his first online interaction with high court chief justices in June 2021.
“I have also requested all of you, in our very first online interaction, to expedite the process of recommending names for elevation to high courts, with an emphasis on social diversity. I am happy to note that the response from some of the high courts has been extremely encouraging. Due to our collective efforts, we could fill 126 vacancies in various high courts, in less than a year. We are expecting 50 more appointments. This remarkable feat could be achieved because of your wholehearted co-operation and commitment to the institution,” added the CJI.