168 proposals for HC appointments at various stages of processing: Rijiju

Against 387 vacancies in various high courts, 168 proposals are at various stages of processing between the government and the Supreme Court collegium, Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

In a written reply, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also said recommendations from various high court collegiums are yet to be received in respect of 219 vacancies.

He said the sanctioned strength of judges of the 25 high courts has increased from 906 in 2014 to 1,104 in 2022.

"As on March 31, 2022, against the sanctioned strength of 1,104 judges in the high courts, 717 judges are in position, leaving 387 vacancies of judges to be filled," he said.

Against 387 vacancies, 168 proposals are at various stages of processing between the government and the Supreme Court collegium. Recommendations from high court collegiums are yet to be received in respect of 219 vacancies, he noted.

He also said that the Registry of Supreme Court has compiled data on the status of judicial infrastructure and court amenities.

A proposal has been received from Chief Justice of India for setting up of National Judicial Infrastructure Authority of India (NJIAI) for arrangement of adequate infrastructure for courts, according to which there will be a governing body with CJI as patron-in-chief.

"The other salient features of the proposal are that NJIAI will act as a central body in laying down the road map for planning, creation, development, maintenance and management of functional infrastructure for the Indian court system, besides identical structures under all the high courts.

"The proposal, as received from the Supreme Court of India, has been sent to the various state government/UTs, as they are important stakeholder, for their views on the contours of the proposal to enable taking a considered view on the matter," he said.