In a significant move to address the acute shortage of judges, the Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai, is set to hold interactions with 33 candidates for appointment to the Allahabad High Court. The exercise, scheduled for Monday, will cover 20 judicial officers and 13 lawyers under consideration for elevation.
The Allahabad High Court, with a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, is functioning at nearly half its capacity. With three impending transfers, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, and Justice Donadi Ramesh, the number of vacancies is expected to rise to 77. The transfer proposals, however, await clearance from the Central government.
The Collegium has recently intensified efforts to fill judicial vacancies across the country. Earlier, it recommended the appointment of 14 advocates as judges of the Bombay High Court and, overall, has cleared 60 appointments in various High Courts in recent months.
The alarming vacancy position in the Allahabad High Court has been a matter of judicial concern. The Court itself, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), recently sought the State’s response on the urgent need for time-bound appointments. The petition highlighted that with Uttar Pradesh’s population of over 24 crore and more than 11.55 lakh cases pending before the High Court, there is only one judge for every 30 lakh people, with each judge handling on average 14,623 cases.
Picture Source :
