Allahabad HC Chief Justice recuses from hearing PIL on judges’ appointments

Following his recusal, the PIL filed by senior advocate Satish Trivedi will now be heard by another division bench, where the chief justice is not a member.

The Chief Justice of Allahabad high court, Justice Arun Bhansali, on Thursday stepped aside from hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a directive for the timely appointment of 81 judges in the high court. The vacancies account for over half of the sanctioned strength of 160 judges.

The PIL argued that the high court is in a “state of functional paralysis” as it is operating at less than 50 percent of its sanctioned strength (Sourced)

Following his recusal, the PIL filed by senior advocate Satish Trivedi will now be heard by another division bench, where the chief justice is not a member.

During the proceedings, senior advocate SFA Naqvi represented the petitioner when the matter was taken up.

The petition described the situation in the high court as the “gravest crisis in its history” and called for binding guidelines to streamline judicial appointments. It urged strict adherence to the timelines outlined in the memorandum of procedure (MoP).

The plea pointed to a severe judge shortage in the Allahabad HC, noting that with Uttar Pradesh’s population of 24 crore and 1,155,225 pending cases, there is currently only one judge for every 30 lakh people. Each judge is handling an average of 14,623 cases.

The PIL argued that the high court is in a “state of functional paralysis” as it is operating at less than 50 percent of its sanctioned strength, leading to a backlog of over 11 lakh cases and affecting judicial efficiency.