Parliament Question: Appointment of Judges in High Courts

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3545 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 13TH MARCH, 2026 APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES IN HIGH COURTS 3545. SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the sanctioned strength, working strength, and number of vacancies of judges in all High Courts and the duration of the vacancy, classified social category-wise, along with specific data for the Allahabad High Court; (b) the number of judicial appointment recommendations from the Collegium presently pending with the Government in respect of the Allahabad High Court, the duration for which each recommendation has been pending and the reasons for the delay; (c) the total pendency of cases before the Allahabad High Court during the said period and the correlation, if any, between judicial vacancies and the increase in pendency; (d) the number of appointments returned for reconsideration and the timeline followed for final decision thereafter; and (e) the institutional or coordination measures introduced to ensure time-bound processing of judicial appointments and reduction of vacancies? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL) [1](a) to (e): Appointment of Judges to High Courts is made under Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution of India, which do not provide for reservation for any caste or class of persons. Therefore, category-wise data pertaining to representation of any caste or class of persons among the Judges of the High Courts is not centrally available. Since 2018, the recommendees for the post of High Court Judges are required to provide details regarding their social background in the prescribed format (prepared in consultation with the Supreme Court). As per the information provided by the recommendees, out of 849 Judges appointed from 2018 till 09.03.2026, 33 belong to SC category, 17 belong to ST category, 104 belong to OBC category and 46 belong to the minority category. The information relating to sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies in High Courts is at Annexure-I. Pendency of cases in courts arise due to several factors which inter alia, include complexity of the facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stakeholders, viz., bar, investigation agencies, witness and litigants, the availability of physical infrastructure, supporting court staff, etc. besides the shortage of judges. The disposal of cases is within the exclusive domain of the judiciary. Filling up of the vacancy in the higher Judiciary is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the executive and the judiciary. As per the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgment of October 6, 1993 (Second Judges case) read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998 (Third Judges case), the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, in consultation with two senior-most puisne Judges of the High Court. As per the MoP, the High Courts are required to make recommendations at least 06 months before the occurrence of a vacancy. However, this time limit is rarely observed. For appointments to the High Courts, the views of concerned State Government are obtained in accordance with the MoP. The recommendations also have to be considered in the light of such other reports as may be available to the Government in [2]respect of the names under consideration. The recommendations of the High Court Collegium, the State Governments and the Government of India are then forwarded to the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for advice. Only those persons whose names have been recommended by the SCC are appointed as Judges of the High Courts. As on 06.03.2026, against the sanctioned strength of 1122 Judges, 810 Judges are working and 312 posts of Judges are vacant in various High Courts. Against these vacancies, 132 proposals for appointment of High Court Judges are at various stages of processing between the Government and the Supreme Court Collegium. Through this continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the executive and the judiciary, 157 Judges were appointed in various High Courts during 2025. **** [3]Annexure-I Sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancy of Judges in High Courts as on 06.03.2026 Sl. No. High Court Sanctioned Strength Working Strength Vacancies 1 Allahabad 160 109 51 2 Andhra Pradesh 37 33 4 3 Bombay 94 80 14 4 Calcutta 72 42 30 5 Chhattisgarh 22 15 7 6 Delhi 60 44 16 7 Gauhati 30 25 5 8 Gujarat 52 35 17 Himachal 9 17 12 5 Pradesh J & K and 10 25 14 11 Ladakh 11 Jharkhand 25 14 11 12 Karnataka 62 46 16 13 Kerala 47 39 8 14 Madhya Pradesh 53 42 11 15 Madras 75 52 23 16 Manipur 5 3 2 17 Meghalaya 4 4 0 18 Orissa 33 19 14 19 Patna 53 37 16 Punjab & 20 85 61 24 Haryana 21 Rajasthan 50 39 11 22 Sikkim 3 3 0 23 Telangana 42 28 14 24 Tripura 5 4 1 25 Uttarakhand 11 10 1 Total 1122 810 312 [4]