Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

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Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Context: Shortage of Judges The Judiciary of India (Including all levels) are facing acute shortage of judges. This article will deal with reasons behind the shortage.

Pendency of cases in India:

  • Shortage of Judges Over 4.7 crore cases are pending in courts across different levels of the judiciary. Of them, 87.4% are pending in subordinate courts, 12.4% in High Courts, while nearly 1,82,000 cases have been pending for over 30 years.

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Reasons behind this worrisome situation:

  • The major reason behind this situation is the overall shortage of judges in the high courts in India.
  • The situation is grim in subordinate courts where along with the shortage, lack of basic infrastructure is a big concern. There are over 5,000 vacancies in subordinate courts against the total sanctioned strength of 24,490.
  • Disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic further clogged the Indian judicial system. There was a drop in new cases as courts went digital, but with lockdown restrictions in place, a slower disposal rate resulted in more pending cases.

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    Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

CourtPendency in 2019Pendency in 2020Pendency in 2021Pendency in 2022
Supreme Court59,535 (as of December 2019)64,426 (as of December 2020)69,855 (as of December 2021)70,154 (as of March 2022)
High Courts46,84,354 (as of December 2019)56,42,567 (as of December 2020)56,49,068 (as of December 2021)58,90,726 (as of March 2022)
Districts & Subordinate courts3,22,96,224 (as of December 2019)3,66,39,436 (as of December 2020)4,05,79,062 (as of December 2021)4,09,85,490 (as of March 2022)

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Constitutional Provisions for Appointment of Judges

 

ü Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President under Articles 124(2) and 217 of the Constitution.

v Article 124(2) says: “Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as he may deem necessary.

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

v Article 217: “Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State, and, in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court.”

 

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Collegium System

 

ü It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the Supreme Court, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution.

ü The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four other senior-most judges of the court.

ü A High Court collegium is led by its Chief Justice and four other senior-most judges of that court.

ü Names recommended for appointment by a High Court collegium reaches the government only after approval by the CJI and the Supreme Court collegium.

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

ü Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system, and the government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.

 

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Role of Government in Judicial Appointment

ü The government’s role is limited.

ü It can only get an inquiry conducted by the Home Ministry if a lawyer is to be elevated as a judge in a High Court or the Supreme Court.

ü It can also raise objections and seek clarifications regarding the collegium’s choices.

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

ü But if the collegium reiterates the same names, the government is bound, under Constitution Bench judgments, to appoint them as judges.

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Way Ahead

Speedy appointment of judges:

  • By not appointing judges, the government is depriving common persons of justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.
  • There is urgent need to improve the judge-to-population ratio to reduce the workload of judges.

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Guidelines by Union government:

  • Centre had suggested measures like increasing the number of working days of courts, establishment of fast-track courts and Indian Courts and Tribunal Services (ICTs) to increase the productivity of the court system.

E-platforms:

  • Improve judicial infrastructure through the use of e-platforms and setting up of more courts. India has launched the e-Courts National portal gov.in of the e-Courts Project.Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

Strengthen the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism:

  • It uses the modes like Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation.
  • It uses a neutral third party who helps the parties to communicate, discuss the differences and resolve the dispute. It offers to resolve all types of matters related to civil disputes, as explicitly provided by the law.

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Shortage of Judges// भारतीय जजों की वर्तमान स्थिति

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