Pendency of 11 lakh cases, yet 50 percent vacancy: PIL in Allahabad High Court

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Allahabad High Court, seeking directions for urgent and time-bound filling of judicial vacancies at the High Court where more than 50 percent of the judges' posts are vacant..The plea states that with a population of 24 crore and 1,155,225 pending cases before the High Court, there is only one judge for every 30 lakh people, with each judge handling an average of 14,623 pending cases.The PIL has been filed by Senior Advocate Satish Trivedi through advocates Shashwat Anand, Syed Ahmad Faizan and Saumitra Anand. Senior Advocate SFA Naqvi will argue the case for Trivedi.."The staggering backlog of 11.55 lakh cases in this Hon’ble Court due to the majority of judges’ seats being vacant (81 judicial vacancies, against the sanctioned strength of 160), effectively denies citizens their fundamental right of access to justice and speedy justice under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India," the plea contends.Even if the High Court achieves the full sanctioned strength of 160 judges, there will still be only one judge for every 15 lakh people, with each judge handling approximately 7,220 pending cases, it adds..The plea has further argued that the High Court is currently facing one of the gravest crises in its history—a crisis that directly threatens its ability to perform its constitutional functions."More than 50% of the judicial positions remain vacant, crippling its capacity to hear and adjudicate cases efficiently: Against a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, only 79 are in position, leaving more than 50% of the seats vacant, i.e., 81 vacancies."It further argues that if judicial vacancies remain vacant, they risk crippling the administration of justice and eroding public confidence in the judiciary. Therefore, the plea calls for an expeditious, transparent and collaborative approach to restore the strength and stature of the constitutional court..Notably, the plea proposes that the High Court establish a mandatory accountability mechanism through judicial guidelines. These guidelines would require the recommendation of potential candidates for judicial elevation six months before any vacancy arises.To prevent delays, the plea emphasizes the need for an expedited process, ensuring that when a vacancy occurs or a judge retires, a successor is immediately ready. This would enable the court to function at its full sanctioned strength of 160 judges without any interruptions, as per the plea.Bar & Bench in January had highlighted that the Allahabad High Court was functioning at just under 50% of its sanctioned strength of 160, with only 79 judges (including the Chief Justice) hearing cases.Despite the alarming pendency of 11,41,687 cases before the High Court as of January 1, 2025, not much has been done to fill these vacancies on a war footing..Recently, the Supreme Court also raised concern over heavy case pendency at the Allahabad High Court."In last one month, we have come across many petitions whose proceedings have been pending before Allahabad High Court since three decades...It appears that the High Court of Allahabad is flooded with litigation. We are informed each judge is with 15-20 thousand cases. The High Court is working with (79) judges; that means it has vacancy of 50 percent. Litigants are waiting...The only way out is to take steps to fill up vacancies, recommending candidates on merit," Justice JB Pardiwala had remarked.The Allahabad High Court Bar Association also last month abstained from work, citing concerns over the High Court functioning with only 79 judges.