The Supreme Court on Monday took note of the heavy case pendency before the Allahabad High Court and observed that immediate steps need to be taken to fill the vacant judge posts [Kamla Bai v. Allahabad High Court and ors]..A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that each judge of the Allahabad High Court was tasked with deciding about 15-20 thousand cases while the High Court continues working at half capacity..It appears that the High Court of Allahabad is flooded with litigation.Supreme Court.The Bench made the observation while dealing a plea by a 95-year-old litigant whose case had remained pending before the Allahabad High Court for a long time. She had moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the High Court so that her second appeal in a civil case was heard at the earliest.The Bench today opined that it cannot adopt a "pick and choose" policy to direct an out-of-turn hearing for one case, when the Allahabad High Court was already flooded with litigation. There may be many such cases lying in "pathetic condition", the Court noted. "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 added..It proceeded to direct that the litigant's plea be treated as a representation to the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice, so that appropriate steps may be taken. "Let this petition be treated as representation. The Registry shall serve a copy of this order to Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court. The Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court shall take appropriate actions in this regard," the Court ordered..50% vacancies, mounting pendency: The Allahabad High Court's growing judicial crisis.Bar & Bench recently published an article highlighting 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.In December 2024, the Supreme Court Collegium made one recommendation for Advocate Praveen Kumar Giri to be appointed as a judge and his name was approved by the Central government on January 23.No other recommendations were made despite the awareness of the pendency and shortage of judges. .[Read Order].[Read Live Coverage]
The Supreme Court on Monday took note of the heavy case pendency before the Allahabad High Court and observed that immediate steps need to be taken to fill the vacant judge posts [Kamla Bai v. Allahabad High Court and ors]..A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that each judge of the Allahabad High Court was tasked with deciding about 15-20 thousand cases while the High Court continues working at half capacity..It appears that the High Court of Allahabad is flooded with litigation.Supreme Court.The Bench made the observation while dealing a plea by a 95-year-old litigant whose case had remained pending before the Allahabad High Court for a long time. She had moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the High Court so that her second appeal in a civil case was heard at the earliest.The Bench today opined that it cannot adopt a "pick and choose" policy to direct an out-of-turn hearing for one case, when the Allahabad High Court was already flooded with litigation. There may be many such cases lying in "pathetic condition", the Court noted. "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 added..It proceeded to direct that the litigant's plea be treated as a representation to the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice, so that appropriate steps may be taken. "Let this petition be treated as representation. The Registry shall serve a copy of this order to Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court. The Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court shall take appropriate actions in this regard," the Court ordered..50% vacancies, mounting pendency: The Allahabad High Court's growing judicial crisis.Bar & Bench recently published an article highlighting 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.In December 2024, the Supreme Court Collegium made one recommendation for Advocate Praveen Kumar Giri to be appointed as a judge and his name was approved by the Central government on January 23.No other recommendations were made despite the awareness of the pendency and shortage of judges. .[Read Order].[Read Live Coverage]
