Youth Bar Association of India moves Supreme Court to fill judicial vacancies [Read Petition]

The Youth Bar Association of India has moved the Supreme Court with a plea to facilitate the expeditious filling of judicial vacancies in High Courts and subordinate courts. The petition filed through its president, advocate Sanpreet Singh Ajmani highlights,.“… taking into account the rapid increase in pendency of the cases in the courts and also taking note of the fact that the appointment of the Judges in the High Courts is not being done in conformity to the sanctioned strength, the need of the hour demands that the respondents may very kindly be directed to take dire steps to fill up the vacancies of the Judges of the High Courts as well as the Subordinate Courts as per the sanctioned strength and also consider to increase the sanctioned strength of the Judges, which ought to have been raised taking into account the rapid increase in the pendency of the cases and the population of the country, which has also grown many folds. [sic]”.The petition argues that owing to the shortage of judges in the High Courts and subordinate courts, the right to speedy trial, timely delivery of justice and thereby Article 21 of the Constitution is being denied. In this backdrop, the petition states,.“The state may have its financial constraints and expenditure but the law does not permit any government to deprive its citizens of the constitutional rights on plea of poverty.“.Further, the failure to fill judicial vacancies expeditiously, in turn, will also erode the public confidence in the judiciary, the petition contends..“… ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. If the process of administration of justice is so time consuming, laborious, indolent and frustrating for those who seek justice that it dissuades or deters them from even considering resort to that process as an option, it would tantamount to denial of not only access to justice but justice itself. “.The Association has further argued that the matter of judicial appointments has been meted a step-motherly treatment, particularly in view of the fact that legislative and executive appointments are periodically filled up..Inter alia, the petition also puts part of the blame on the Executive for sitting over Collegium recommendations made by the Supreme Court. In this regard, the petition states,.“…the leniency shown by the Government by the way of withholding the recommended names from this Hon’ble court for the appointment of judges in High Courts for a long period of time without any justification increases the vacancy at its peak. It is important to maintain the ratio of judges to the population for the fast as well as timely disposal of cases.”.Such inaction by the Government would in turn also affect the independence of the judiciary, argues the petition..... ‘judiciary’ is the part of basic structure of the Constitution and also considered to be a pillar of democracy. Interference, by any means, affecting its smooth functioning amounts to interference in the independence of judiciary. Causing delay in appointing the judges might not be the expressive way of interfering with the independence of judiciary but it might be an indirect way of hampering its independence. For rule of law to prevail, judicial independence is of prime necessity.“.On this aspect, the petition also calls for acknowledging the primacy of the Chief Justice of India in matters of judges’ appointments..“… primacy to be accorded to Hon’ble Chief Justice of India’s views amongst the consultees mentioned in Articles 124(2), 217(1) and (c) primacy in the sense that the opinion of the Chief Justice of India would be binding on the President, i.e., the executive. Therefore, the government cannot sit idle over the recommended names by this Hon’ble Court.“.In view of these submissions, the Association has prayed that the Supreme Court issue directions for filling up judicial vacancies in High Courts and subordinate courts expeditiously. Further, it has also called on the top court to direct that the Association’s representation to concerned authorities raising these issues, which was made on June 28, 2019, be considered..Recently the petitioner had moved a PIL in the Uttarakhand High Court with a plea to increase the retirement age for High Court judges on par with that of Supreme Court judges, ie 65 years as another alternative for tackling the issue of case pendency..[Read Petition]