A Delhi lawyer has written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) highlighting the difficulties faced by litigants, advocates, and court staff. The letter emphasizes the impact of severe staffing shortages, as noted in a December 2023 report by the Centre for Research and Planning of the Supreme Court. The report, titled “State of the Judiciary,” revealed that Delhi’s courts have a significant 27.8% vacancy rate in staff positions.
New Delhi: In a letter dated September 30, Karkardooma court advocate Puneet Tomar highlighted several issues affecting the functioning of Delhi’s district courts, addressing it to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Delhi High Court Chief Justice Manmohan.
Tomar pointed out concerns such as “rude” judges, judicial staff being burdened with “administrative” tasks, a shortage of stenographers in magistrate courts, and court staff having to travel long distances, up to 100 km, to reach work.
The letter emphasized that judicial officers often engaged in administrative duties, despite the existence of dedicated administrative officers within the district court system.
Tomar questioned,
“Why is all the administrative work allotted to judicial officers when there are posts of administrative officers in the hierarchy?”
These issues, Tomar argued, have negatively impacted the work environment for litigants, advocates, and court staff.
Tomar also raised concerns about the heavy backlog in magistrate courts, which are operating with just a single stenographer.
He questioned,
“How is it possible for one stenographer to manage daily order sheets, bail orders, recording evidence, framing charges, judgments, and other miscellaneous tasks for a daily cause-list of around 70-80 cases?”
He referenced a December 2023 report by the Supreme Court’s Centre for Research and Planning, titled “State of the Judiciary,” which revealed that Delhi courts are facing a significant 27.8% vacancy in court staff.
In addition to issues with “rude” judges, Tomar highlighted the struggles of court staff who commute long distances.
Tomar wrote,
“One staff member I met at the Dwarka courts is a resident of Meerut and posted at the Dwarka court complex. It takes him nearly four hours to travel from Meerut to the court,”
The “State of the Judiciary” report revealed that Delhi faces a 61% shortage in residential accommodation for judicial officers, the highest in the country, alongside Jammu and Kashmir.
In his letter, Tomar urged the Chief Justices to take note of these issues, which he argued are impeding the judicial process and creating a stressful working environment for everyone involved in Delhi’s lower courts.