In India, there are less than 21,000 judges to manage a staggering caseload of over five crore, according to a report authored by the Supreme Court. As of November 21, the district and taluka/tehsil courts had 4.4 crore cases pending, high courts had 61.7 lakh cases, and the supreme court had 79,593 cases.
According to the report, between 2015 and 2022, there was a 59% growth in the backlog and a 22% increase in the strength of judges in the district courts, which is the grassroots representation of the legal system.
Source: The Economic Times
Judge vacancies being filled slowly has a significant impact on case disposition rates, which in turn affects the judiciary’s capacity to provide prompt justice. Currently, the nation has 14.2 judges for every million residents. Based on the current population of India, the district judiciary’s sanctioned strength of 25,081 judges must be increased to 69,600 judges overall in order to reach the ideal ratio of 50 judges per million.
The Law Commission’s 1987 recommendation to raise the number of judges to 50 per million inhabitants was adopted by the Supreme Court in 2002, and the government was instructed to take the necessary action within five years. But this issue hasn’t been given priority by any of the succeeding administrations.
Source: Zee Business
It takes cooperation between the judiciary and the executive branch to close the gap between the judges’ authorised and operational strength. The latter’s stalling of judicial nominations has occasionally made matters worse. A portion of the caseload has been delayed as a result of this delay, which has caused many adjournments and annoyance among the parties involved.
With President Droupadi Murmu’s recent endorsement, the planned All-India Judicial Service has gained renewed attention. It can assist in both filling existing vacancies and increasing the sanctioned strength to fulfil the demands of the hordes of people.
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