On Sunday(1st September),CJI D.Y. Chandrachud called for a national-level judicial recruitment process to move beyond regionalism and state-focused selections. He highlighted the need for skilled personnel to address the backlog of cases nationwide.
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NEW DELHI: On Sunday(1st September), Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud emphasized the urgent need for a national-level recruitment process for judicial services, advocating for a shift away from “narrow walls of regionalism and state-centred selections.” Speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the ‘National Conference of the District Judiciary,’ the CJI underscored the importance of attracting skilled personnel to tackle the high number of pending cases across the country.
Tackling Case Pendency with Skilled Personnel
“Our national average disposal rate is currently at 95%.”
-Chandrachud stated.
Despite progress, tackling pending cases remains a challenge. Increasing our disposal-to-filing ratio hinges on attracting skilled personnel.
The CJI highlighted the current vacancy rates, noting that –
“At the district level, there is a 28% vacancy rate for judicial personnel and 27% for non-judicial staff.”
He stressed that for disposals to surpass the institution of cases, courts must operate at full capacity, from the current 71 per cent to 100 per cent.
To address these vacancies, Chandrachud explained that the conference focused on developing criteria for selecting judges and standardizing recruitment calendars nationwide.
“The time has come now to think of national integration by recruiting members to the judicial services across the narrow walls of regionalism and state-centred selections,”
-he said.
Standardizing Judicial Training and Curriculum
The CJI also revealed that the Supreme Court’s Centre for Research and Planning is preparing a white paper aimed at integrating state-level training modules with national and international best practices.
“Currently, some State Judicial Academies offer robust curricula, while others focus on re-engaging newly qualified judges with legal subjects. We are working on establishing a systematic, nationwide curriculum for judicial training and using technology to monitor our progress.”
-he explained.
He added that-
“The new curriculum promises innovative training methods, a thematic framework, uniform training calendars, integration of IT in judicial training, a revamped National Judicial Academy to address knowledge gaps, and a robust feedback and assessment methodology.”
Justice Delivery as an Essential Service
CJI Chandrachud pointed out that justice delivery is an essential service provided by courts, particularly to the most vulnerable citizens. He acknowledged the modernization efforts of the judiciary over the past decade, which have focused on creating a tech-savvy and accessible infrastructure.
Efforts in the past decade have modernised the judiciary, aiming for a tech-savvy and accessible infrastructure such as trained personnel, spacious court complexes, facilitation centres, e-seva kendras, medical facilities, and creches.
Highlighting recent developments, he shared-
“Just a day ago, we inaugurated a new creche, increasing our capacity from twenty to over a hundred infants. This reflects the evolving demographic of our judiciary, with younger individuals increasingly taking on leadership roles.”
Action Plan to Reduce Case Pendency
Discussing the committee on reducing case arrears, which includes Justices A.S. Oka, Vikram Nath, and Dipankar Datta, Chandrachud commended their efforts in laying out an action plan to manage case pendency.
“The three stages of the action plan involve the preparatory phase of forming district-level case management committees to identify target cases, outdated cases, and reconstruct records.”
-he said.
He elaborated on the ongoing second stage, which aims to resolve cases pending for 10-20 years, 20-30 years, and more than 30 years.
From January to June 2025, the judiciary shall execute the third phase of clearing the backlogs of cases pending for over a decade in the courts. This effort requires intricate coordination of various applications and data management systems to plan and track our strategies.
Promoting Pre-Litigation Dispute Resolution
Chandrachud also emphasized the importance of pre-litigation dispute resolution strategies, highlighting the success of the Supreme Court’s first-ever Lok Adalat, where nearly one thousand cases were settled within five working days.
“There is no reason for cases that could be settled between parties to remain unresolved in court for extended periods.”
-he noted.
However, alternative strategies such as Lok Adalat and mediations provide us with an avenue to introspect whether an adversarial proceeding is even required between the parties.
Fostering Judicial Wellness
Addressing the well-being of judges, CJI Chandrachud pointed out that the mental and physical health of judges is crucial for the overall health of the judicial institution.
“Judges deal with distress that affects them mentally and physically,”
– he said.
Addressing this issue requires us to recognize the unique stressors of judicial work, enabling a robust support system, and prioritizing mental health and wellness initiatives. We must start by destigmatizing the conversation around mental health and fostering an open and supportive environment for our judges to function.
He further added-
“Judicial wellness is not just a personal concern but a democratic imperative for upholding the rule of law and maintaining public confidence. To address this, we dedicated an entire session at the conference to judicial wellness, where we received valuable insights from the head of the Government’s flagship Ayush hospital project at Sarita Vihar.”
Bridging the Gap Between District Judiciary and High Courts
The CJI highlighted the importance of bridging the perceived gap between the district judiciary and the High Courts. He stressed that an environment of open, frank, and holistic communication between judicial officers and High Court judges is essential for fair transfer policies, equitable distribution of work, and transparency in promotion and assessment. He called on inspecting or administrative judges to ensure that their evaluations of judicial officers are based on data collected over time, rather than mere inspections on designated days.
“Our goal is to instill a sense of ownership and belonging in members of the district judiciary, who should be evaluated based on their long-term and consistent performance.”
-Chandrachud remarked.
