FILLING UP OF VACANCIES OF JUDGES
The Government has
set in motion the process of filling up of vacancies in the Supreme
Court and High Courts expeditiously. At present, there are one
vacancy in the Supreme Court and 95 vacancies of judges in the
High Courts. The total strength of judges of the Supreme Court
is 26 and all the 21 High Courts 647.
Of the 95 vacancies
of judges in the High Courts, 66 recommendations have been received
and are in the process. These vacancies will be filled up very
soon. The Government is awaiting recommendations for the remaining
29 vacancies of judges of High Courts. In this connection, the
Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers concerned have
been requested to send in recommendations quickly to enable the
Government to fill all the vacancies by the end of March 2003
to ensure nil vacancy of judges from April 1, 2003 and thereafter
the vacancies would be filled up as and when they arise.
During the year 2002,
48 vacancies of judges arose in the High Courts. A total of 89
appointments were made, recording a significant improvement in
filing up vacancies of judges in the High Courts. This is all
the more significant when viewed in the context of the judicial
appointments being initiated by the Chief Justices of the High
Courts and the Chief Justice of India.
The year 2002 also
witnessed appointment of 35 Additional Judges as permanent judges
of High Courts. In addition, eight Chief Justices of High Courts
were also appointed.
