Cases pile up due to high vacancies of judges in High Court

Indian courts are jammed with numerous cases as pendency of the cases increases by the day and the courts function with judges fewer than the sanctioned number as per the India Justice Report (IJR) of 2022. The number of cases pending per judge is increasing in most states while the strength of the judges in most courts remains the same.
The High Courts comprise only 778 judges against the sanctioned strength of 1108 judges as of December, 2022 whereas the subordinate courts function with 19,228 judges against their sanctioned strength of 24, 631 judges. Even though the pendency of cases in High Courts is worse than the subordinate courts, the report found that High Courts are clearing more cases annually as compared to the subordinate courts in the country.
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have the highest average pendency as cases remain pending for a period of 11 years and 9 years respectively. The lowest average pendency of cases is seen in the states of Tripura, Sikkim and Meghalya where cases remain pending between 1 to 2 years only.
This was written by Ms. Anshika Gupta, Intern, All India Legal Forum.