One judge for 18.7 lakh people: vacancy, pendency crises plague High Courts

The Hindu

03-05-2025

In a rare and candid observation, the Delhi High Court last week cited the 'acute shortage of judges' as a key reason for its inability to hear all cases listed in its daily cause list. The comment serves as a sobering reminder of the systemic challenges confronting the judiciary.
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The observation came during the hearing of a routine application by a man accused of cheating and forgery, who was seeking permission to travel abroad. Though incidental, the remark has drawn attention to a longstanding issue plaguing the judiciary — chronic judicial vacancies across India.
The Delhi High Court currently functions with only 36 judges, well below its sanctioned strength of 60. This means nearly 40% of judicial posts remain vacant. The court is simultaneously grappling with a staggering backlog of 1,34,090 pending cases.
Nationwide shortfall
According to the latest data from the Department of Justice, India's 25 High Courts have a combined sanctioned strength of 1,114 judges. As of now, only 769 judges are in position, leaving 345 posts, or over 30%, vacant.
These 769 judges are responsible for clearing a backlog of 62,96,798 cases pending across High Courts.
The Allahabad High Court leads with the highest number of vacancies — 81 out of 160 sanctioned posts. It also faces the heaviest caseload, with 11,76,229 cases pending, according to the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). The Punjab and Haryana High Court follows, with 32 vacancies against a strength of 85. Only the Sikkim and Meghalaya High Courts report zero vacancies.
Except for 2019, when High Courts disposed of more cases (23,53,736) than were instituted (22,01,442), case filings have consistently outpaced disposals. In 2024 alone, 24,06,178 cases were filed, while only 22,57,971 were resolved.
This widening gap highlights the increasing strain on the judiciary and the urgent need to fill vacancies to ensure the timely delivery of justice.
Stalled appointments
Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha on April 3, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said 150 High Court judge appointment proposals were currently at various stages of processing between the government and the Supreme Court Collegium. For another 205 vacancies, recommendations from the respective High Court Collegiums are still awaited.
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High Court judges are appointed under Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution, based on the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) framed in 1998, following Supreme Court rulings. According to the MoP, the Chief Justice of each High Court is expected to initiate recommendations at least six months before a vacancy arises. However, the Law Minister admitted that this timeline is 'rarely observed.'
On April 20, 2021, the Supreme Court allowed the appointment of retired judges as ad hoc judges to address the backlog of criminal cases. Initially, such appointments were permitted only if judicial vacancies exceeded 20% of the sanctioned strength. In January 2025, the apex court relaxed the condition, allowing each High Court to appoint between two and five ad hoc judges, not exceeding 10% of its sanctioned strength.
Despite this flexibility, the Law Minister confirmed that the government had not 'received any proposal from any of the High Courts' as of April 3.
India Justice Report 2025
The 'India Justice Report 2025' underscores the depth of the crisis. Between 2020 and 2024, pending cases in Indian courts surged nearly 20%. Despite this sharp rise, judicial vacancies have remained persistently high, with High Courts operating with about 33% of sanctioned posts unfilled.
The report also paints a stark picture of judicial burden. 'Measured by population, India averages one High Court judge for 18.7 lakh people,' said the report released last month.
At the end of 2024, judges in most High Courts — except in Sikkim, Tripura, and Meghalaya— handled over 1,000 cases each. The workload in the Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh High Courts was especially extreme, with judges burdened with over 15,000 cases each, the report said.