[Law Ministry 2021] 120 High Court judges appointed, 63 additional judges made permanent

The annual 'Year End Review' published by the Union Law Ministry's Department of Justice last week revealed that 120 new judges were appointed to High Courts across the country and 63 additional judges were made permanent in 2021..Appointment and transfer of judges.a) According the annual review, 120 fresh judges were appointed in the High Courts of Bombay (6), Allahabad (17), Gujarat (7), Karnataka (6), Andhra Pradesh (2), Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (2), Kerala (12), Rajasthan (8), Punjab and Haryana (6), Calcutta (8), Orissa (4), Telangana (7), Madras (5), Chhattisgarh (3), Himachal Pradesh (1), Jharkhand (4), Gauhati (6), Delhi (2), Patna (6) and Madhya Pradesh (8).b) 63 Additional Judges were made permanent in the High Courts of Allahabad (10), Karnataka (20), Calcutta (1), Chhattisgarh (1), Punjab and Haryana (10), Bombay (10), Kerala (7), Uttarakhand (1) and Gauhati (3).c) Moreover, the tenures of 2 additional judges were extended at the High Courts of Bombay (1) and Gauhati (1).d) Apart from this, 11 Chief Justices were appointed to the High Courts of Allahabad (2), Andhra Pradesh (1), Calcutta (1), Guwahati (1), Gujarat (1), Karnataka (1), Madhya Pradesh (1), Madras (1), Manipur (1) and Telangana (1).e) 6 Chief Justices were transferred from one High Court to another.f) 27 judges of High Courts were transferred from one High Court to another.g) The sanctioned strength of the Tripura High Court was enhanced by 1 post and that of Telangana High Court by 18 posts, thus increasing the approved judges strength in the Tripura High Court to 5 judges and in the Telangana High Court to 42 judges..As of December 1, 2021, 402 High Court posts remain vacant, as against a total sanctioned strength of 1,098 judges..The review also highlights some of the other developments that took place in 2021, some of which are:.Tele-law services were available at 75,000 CSC's or Gram Panchayats across 699 districts. 12,70,135 cases were registered in total, of which advice had been enabled to 12,50,811 beneficiaries. Nearly 6 lakh awareness programmes were organized by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in 2021, benefiting 26 crore citizens. More than 39,000 Legal Aid Clinics were held, assisting nearly 1.5 crore citizens. 26,460 mobile vans were deployed in 3.21 lakh villages to sensitize 19 crore citizens about legal aid services. 683 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including 383 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts disposed of 68,120 cases in 2021. From April 2021, portal for reporting of “vacancy-related data” for the subordinate judiciary is live on the Department of Justice website. In 2021, apart from 4 existing dedicated commercial courts, two more were operationalised in Mumbai..Read the full year-end review here: