Supreme Court Collegium, led by CJI BR Gavai, will interview 33 candidates, including judicial officers and lawyers, to fill urgent Allahabad High Court vacancies amid the rising backlog of cases.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, is set to hold interactions with 33 candidates for appointment to the Allahabad High Court. According to highly placed sources, these interactions are scheduled for Monday.
Out of the 33 candidates shortlisted, 20 are judicial officers while 13 are practicing lawyers. The collegium’s evaluation process will play a vital role in determining who makes it to the bench of the Allahabad High Court.
The Allahabad High Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, is currently functioning at nearly half its capacity. With three judges, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, and Justice Donadi Ramesh, proposed for transfer (awaiting clearance from the Central government), the total vacancies are expected to rise to 77.
The shortage of judges has had a direct impact on justice delivery. Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 24 crore, has over 11.55 lakh cases pending in the High Court. This translates to a staggering burden of one judge for every 30 lakh people, with each judge handling an average of 14,623 pending cases.
The Collegium has been actively working to fill vacancies across High Courts in the country. Recently, it recommended the appointment of 14 advocates as judges of the Bombay High Court. So far this year, 60 judicial vacancies have been filled in different High Courts, a step towards strengthening the judiciary.
Highlighting the urgency of the matter, the Allahabad High Court itself recently sought the State’s response in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that demanded time-bound filling of vacancies. The PIL pointed out the disproportionate ratio of judges to population and its severe impact on litigants waiting for justice.
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