16 new judges appointed to 5 high courts

Sixteen new judges have been appointed to five high courts.

The law ministry last night issued orders appointing six judges to the Patna High Court, four to the Gauhati High Court, two each to the Uttarakhand and Jharkhand high courts and one judge to the Sikkim High Court.

The appointments come at a time when the government and the judiciary have major differences over several clauses of a document which works as a guide for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts.

As on May 1, the 24 high courts have 450 vacancies. While the sanctioned strength is 1,079, the working strength is 629 judges.