**Executive Summary**
This report, prepared by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Justice, details the number of sanctioned and vacant posts in Indian courts, from the subordinate courts to the Supreme Court. It was presented as an answer to Unstarred Question No. 1362 in the Lok Sabha on February 6, 2026, and explains the appointment process for judges and outlines responsibilities for filling vacancies at different court levels.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Vacancy Statistics (as of January/February 2026):**
* Supreme Court: 34 sanctioned posts, 33 working, 1 vacancy
* High Courts: 1122 sanctioned posts, 816 working, 306 vacancies
* District and Subordinate Courts: 25,894 sanctioned posts, 21,046 working, 4,848 vacancies
* **Appointment Procedures:**
* Supreme Court and High Court Judge appointments are governed by Articles 124, 217, and 224 of the Constitution of India and the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP).
* Initiation of proposals for Supreme Court Judge appointments rests with the Chief Justice of India.
* Initiation of proposals for High Court Judge appointments rests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, in consultation with two senior-most judges.
* Filling vacancies in the higher Judiciary is a collaborative process involving consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities at both the State and Central levels, as per the MoP.
* Recommendations from High Court Collegium, State Governments, and the Government of India are forwarded to the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for advice; only SCC-recommended individuals are appointed.
* Filling vacancies in District and Subordinate courts is the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned, following constitutional framework and powers under Article 309, read with Articles 233 and 234.
* State Governments, in consultation with the High Court, create rules and regulations for recruitment of Judicial Officers.
* Timelines for recruitment of District and Subordinate Court judges are stipulated by the Supreme Court's order in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case (January 2007) and must be followed by States and High Courts.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Supreme Court**
* **Impact:** The Supreme Court needs to ensure there is enough capacity to deal with cases in a timely fashion.
* **Action Required:** Continue participating in the selection process of Judges, aiming to fill the vacant position.
**Stakeholder: High Courts**
* **Impact:** The High Courts needs to ensure there is enough capacity to deal with cases in a timely fashion and filling the positions in High Courts is crucial for efficient judicial processes.
* **Action Required:** The Chief Justices of the High Courts must initiate proposals for appointment of Judges, consult with senior judges, and follow the stipulated timelines for recruitment of District and Subordinate Court judges.
**Stakeholder: State Governments**
* **Impact:** The State Governments are responsible for enabling lower courts and have to participate in the selection process for all courts.
* **Action Required:** State Governments, in consultation with the High Courts, need to frame rules and regulations for the appointment and recruitment of Judicial Officers in District and Subordinate Courts. They must also comply with the timelines stipulated by the Supreme Court for recruitment.
Key Entities Referenced
Supreme Court: The highest court in India; the filling of sanctioned and vacant posts within the Supreme Court is a focus of the document.
High Court: State-level courts in India; the filling of sanctioned and vacant posts within the High Courts is a focus of the document.
District and Subordinate Court: Lower-level courts in India; the filling of sanctioned and vacant posts within the District and Subordinate Courts is a focus of the document.
Ministry of Law and Justice: The Indian government ministry responsible for legal affairs; the Minister is answering questions regarding filling vacant court posts.
Memorandum of Procedure (MoP): The established procedure for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts, referenced within the response.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1362
TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 06th FEBRUARY, 2026
FILLING THE VACANT POSTS IN COURTS
1362. Shri Amra Ram:
Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:
(a) the number of sanctioned and vacant posts from the subordinate courts level to the Supreme
Court level;
(b) the reasons for not filling the vacant posts on time and the proposal to resolve the same;
(c) whether the department proposes to recruit High Court and Supreme Court judges either
through UPSC or a Tribunal; and
(d) if so, the timeline by which it would be completed, and if not, the reasons therefor?
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)
(a) to (d) The details of number of sanctioned and vacant posts from the subordinate courts level
to the Supreme Court level, is as below:
Name of Court Sanctioned Working Strength Vacancy
Strength
Supreme Court (as on 34 33 01
19.01.2026)
High Court (as on 19.01.2026) 1122 816 306
District and Subordinate Court 25,894 21,046 4,848
(as on 05.02.2026)Appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts is made under Articles 124, 217
and 224 of the Constitution of India and according to the procedure laid down in 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).As per the MoP, 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.
Filling up of the vacancy in the higher Judiciary is a continuous, integrated and collaborative
process between the executive and the judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various
Constitutional Authorities both at State and Central level which 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 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.
Further, filling up of vacant positions of the judicial officers in District and Subordinate courts is
the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned. As per the Constitutional
framework, in exercise of powers conferred under the proviso to Article 309 read with Articles
233 and 234 of the Constitution, the respective State Government, in consultation with the High
Court, frames the rules and regulations regarding the appointment and recruitment of Judicial
Officers. The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order passed in January 2007 in the Malik Mazhar
Sultan case, has inter-alia stipulated certain timelines, which are to be followed by the States and
the respective High Courts for recruitment of judges in District and Subordinate Courts.
*******