High Courts face shortage of 265 judges

Shortage of about 265 judges in various High Courts across the country has lead to pendency of of over 38 lakh cases.

While the total approved strength of the 21 High Courts in the country is 895, there are only 630 judges tackling the various cases, according to latest figures available with the Law Ministry.

The biggest hit is the Allahabad High Court which faces a shortage of 83 judges against an approved strength of 160 judges. There is a vacancy of 30 permanent and 53 additional judges in the Allahabad High Court.

The High Courts of Punjab and Haryana and Calcutta have vacancies of 21 judges each. While the Calcutta High Court has an approved strength of 58 judges, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has a sanctioned strength of 68 judges.

The Gujarat High Court, with a sanctioned strength of 42 judges, is functioning with 24 judges. Eighteen posts are vacant.

The Delhi High Court, which has an approved strength of 48 judges, faces a shortage of seven judges. The Sikkim High Court has only one post of judge vacant against its approved strength of three judges.

According to the Supreme Court website, a total of 38,74090 cases -- civil and criminal -- are pending in various high courts.