The Central government has cleared the appointment of five judicial officers as judges of the Allahabad High Court. The move comes as the Court struggles with over 50% judicial vacancies.
New Delhi: On August 4, the Central Government has officially approved the appointment of five judicial officers as judges of the Allahabad High Court.
This decision comes at a crucial time when the Court is operating with only half of its sanctioned strength, causing serious concerns about delays and the overall efficiency of the justice delivery system.
The newly appointed judges are:
- Pramod Kumar Srivastava-II
- Santosh Rai
- Zafeer Ahmad
- Abdul Shahid
- Tej Pratap Tiwari
These appointments were made following the recommendations sent by the Supreme Court Collegium.
The names of Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava-II, Justice Santosh Rai, and Justice Zafeer Ahmad were suggested by the Collegium in July 2025, while the names of Justice Abdul Shahid and Justice Tej Pratap Tiwari were recommended earlier in April 2025.
This move is seen as a step towards addressing the ongoing issue of judicial vacancies in the Allahabad High Court. At present, the Court has only 80 judges working, against a total sanctioned strength of 160 judges.
That means over 50 per cent of the posts are lying vacant, putting immense pressure on the existing judges and leading to long delays in hearing and deciding cases.
Due to this situation, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is also pending before the Allahabad High Court.
This plea seeks the Court’s urgent intervention in directing the Central and State governments to ensure timely and fast-track appointments of judges to fill the remaining vacant posts.
The petition highlights how such vacancies are seriously affecting access to justice for the common people.
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It mentions that the pendency of cases continues to rise because there are not enough judges to hear them in time.
The Centre’s approval of these five appointments is being seen as a positive step but far from enough, considering the huge gap in the current sanctioned strength.
Legal experts, lawyers, and the public have been continuously urging the authorities to give priority to judicial appointments to ensure that justice does not get delayed unnecessarily.
With over half of the judge positions vacant, the Allahabad High Court is one of the most affected high courts in the country in terms of judicial vacancies.
The Supreme Court Collegium, which plays a key role in recommending names for judicial appointments, has been actively sending proposals, but the actual appointment process often takes time due to administrative procedures.
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