The Supreme Court has raised urgent concerns regarding the delay in judicial appointments, as vacancies continue to plague the nation’s High Courts. During a session on May 8, the Court emphasized the pressing need for the Centre to swiftly approve the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium for judge appointments.
Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan issued a stark warning, noting that the backlog of criminal appeals in High Courts has now surpassed 7 lakh cases. The delays are particularly acute in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, where courts are operating with a fraction of their sanctioned judge strength. Allahabad High Court, for example, is struggling with over 2 lakh pending criminal appeals, despite being sanctioned for 160 judges, but only having 79 in position. The Bombay High Court is similarly under-resourced with just 66 of its sanctioned 94 judges, while the Calcutta High Court, which should have 72 judges, currently operates with only 44. Delhi’s smaller High Court also faces a disproportionate workload, with only 41 judges in place instead of the full 60.
This shortage is exacerbating delays in justice delivery, and the Court highlighted the need for immediate action at multiple levels to address the problem. It also pointed to data showing that 29 Collegium recommendations, dating back to November 2022, are still awaiting approval from the Centre. These include 13 from 2024, 12 from 2025, and some older reiterated proposals. The bench expressed hope that the Centre would expedite the process to resolve these long-standing vacancies.
As the issue continues to snowball, the Court’s plea for swift action underscores the critical role timely judicial appointments play in reducing the mounting case load across the nation’s courts.
