Video conferencing with HCs, Law secys to push for filling up vacancies in lower courts: Govt

NEW DELHI: The government has been continuously engaging the high courts and law secretaries of states through regular video conferencing on filling up of vacancies in district and subordinate judiciary which is adversely impacting the justice delivery system. The pendency at lower courts have been at an all time high of 2.93 crore cases.

Department of Justice in the Union Law ministry has hosted a web-portal on its website for reporting and monitoring of sanctioned and working strength, and vacancies of Judicial officers of district and subordinate courts on monthly basis to address the issue of large vacancies in these courts.

“A series of meetings were held with registrars general of all High Courts and Law secretaries of all state governments and union territories through video conferencing in January, July and November, 2018 as a follow up to fill up posts of judicial officers in district and subordinate courts,” minister of state for law PP Chaudhary said on Wednesday in response to a Parliament question.

As a percentage, the all-India vacancies in the subordinate judiciary is at around 24% of the sanctioned strength, better than the High Courts were the vacancies are as high as 36% -- about 384 judges posts are vacant in 24 High Courts against a sanctioned strength of 1,079. As on 30th September 2018, the working strength of judges in lower courts was 17,509 with 5,135 vacacnies, the minister said.

The Centre had earlier written to the Chief Ministers of states and the Chief Justices of High Courts to enhance the cadre strength of the district and subordinate courts and provide physical infrastructure to the state judiciary in the context of increasing pendency of cases.

The government wrote to all Chief Justices of High Courts to monitor the status of the vacancies regularly and to ensure proper coordination with the state public service commission to fill up vacant posts as per time schedule prescribed by the Supreme Court in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case, the minister said.