| GOVERNMENT OF INDIA |
| MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE |
| LOK SABHA |
| UNSTARRED | QUESTION NO: | 595 |
| ANSWERED ON: | 06.02.2019 |
| Vacancy in Judiciary |
| VIRENDER KASHYAP |
| OM BIRLA |
| Will the Minister of | LAW AND JUSTICE | be pleased to state:- |
| (a) the details of total number of posts of Judges sanctioned and lying vacant in High Courts/Supreme Court and the lower judiciary, Court/State-wise and the steps being taken to fill these vacancies along with the reasons for these vacancies; (b) the posts of Judges which have been filled by the Government during 2015-2018; and (c) whether the Government is going to introduce Indian Judicial Services (IJS) at all India level and if so, by when and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWERANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY) (a): A statement indicating sanctioned strength, working strength and vacant posts of Judges in Supreme Court and High Courts is at Annexure-I. A statement indicating the vacancies of Judges/Judicial officers in the District and Subordinate Courts is at Annexure-II. Filling up of vacancies in the Supreme Court and the High Courts is a continuous and collaborative process, between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities. While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies in High Courts do keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges and increase in Judge Strength which has been increased from 906 in May, 2014 to 1079 at present. (b): During the year 2015 to 2018 , 18 Judges have been appointed in the Supreme Court of India and 384 Judges have been appointed in various High Courts. However, as per the Constitutional framework, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate courts is the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned. (c): A comprehensive proposal was formulated for the constitution of an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) and the same was approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November, 2012. The proposal was deliberated upon in the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Court’s held in April, 2013 and it was decided that issue needs further deliberation and consideration. The views of the State Governments and High Courts were sought on the proposal. However, there was divergence of opinion among the State Governments and High Courts on constitution of All India Judicial Service. Keeping in view the divergence of opinion among the stakeholders on constitution of All India Judicial Service, the Government is presently making efforts to arrive at a practicable solution. ***** Annexure-I Statement referred to in reply to Part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 595 for 06.02.2019 regarding Vacancy in Judiciary. (As on 31.01.2019) Sl. No. Name of the High Courts Sanctioned Strength of Judges Working Strength of Judges Vacancies A. Supreme Court of India 31 28 03 B. High Courts 1 Allahabad 160 108 52 2 Andhra Pradesh 37 13 24 3 Bombay 94 70 24 4 Calcutta 72 36 36 5 Chhattisgarh 22 15 07 6 Delhi 60 38 22 7 Gauhati 24 20 04 8 Gujarat 52 28 24 9 Himachal Pradesh 13 08 05 10 Jammu & Kashmir 17 09 08 11 Jharkhand 25 18 07 12 Karnataka 62 31 31 13 Kerala 47 37 10 14 Madhya Pradesh 53 34 19 15 Madras 75 60 15 16 Manipur 05 03 02 17 Meghalaya 04 03 01 18 Orissa 27 15 12 19 Patna 53 27 26 20 Punjab& Haryana 85 53 32 21 Rajasthan 50 25 25 22 Sikkim 03 03 0 23 Telangana 24 13 11 24 Tripura 04 03 01 25 Uttarakhand 11 09 02 Total 1079 679 400 Annexure-II Statement referred to in reply to Part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 595 for 06.02.2019 regarding Vacancy in Judiciary. Sl. No. Name of State / UT Total Sanctioned Strength Total Working Strength Total Vacancy Sanctioned and Working Strength as on 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 11 11 0 30.09.2018 2 Andhra Pradesh and Telangana 987 902 85 31.12.2018 3 Arunachal Pradesh 30 25 5 20.09.2018 4 Assam 430 356 74 05.01.2019 5 Bihar 1845 1223 622 30.09.2018 6 Chandigarh 30 30 0 05.01.2019 7 Chhattisgarh 452 394 58 11.01.2019 8 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 3 3 0 30.09.2018 9 Daman and Diu 3 3 0 14.01.2019 10 Delhi 758 542 216 28.11.2018 11 Goa 50 47 3 14.01.2019 12 Gujarat 1506 1146 360 31.12.2018 13 Haryana 658 486 172 05.01.2019 14 Himachal Pradesh 164 149 15 05.01.2019 15 Jammu & Kashmir 310 224 86 30.09.2018 16 Jharkhand 676 458 218 05.01.2019 17 Karnataka 1307 1105 202 04.01.2019 18 Kerala 535 467 68 08.01.2019 19 Lakshadweep 3 3 0 30.09.2018 20 Madhya Pradesh 1872 1430 442 31.12.2018 21 Maharashtra 2141 1965 176 14.01.2019 22 Manipur 55 40 15 15.01.2019 23 Meghalaya 97 39 58 02.01.2019 24 Mizoram 64 46 18 07.12.2018 25 Nagaland 33 26 7 30.09.2018 26 Orissa 912 748 164 05.01.2019 27 Puducherry 26 12 14 03.01.2019 28 Punjab 675 527 148 05.01.2019 29 Rajasthan 1372 1101 271 04.01.2019 30 Sikkim 23 19 4 31.12.2018 31 Tamilnadu 1159 896 263 03.01.2019 32 Tripura 115 75 40 27.11.2018 33 Uttar Pradesh 3225 2017 1208 10.01.2019 34 Uttarakhand 293 230 63 05.01.2019 35 West Bengal 1013 956 57 31.12.2018 Total 22833 17701 5132 |
