Short of 1,245 staff members, HC orders state to expedite proposals for additional workforce

The Bombay High Court urged Maharashtra to swiftly address a staff shortage of 1,245, impacting operations and digital transition.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday directed the Maharashtra government to expeditiously consider proposals for hiring additional staff after a report prepared by its registry revealed that the court had a shortage of 1,245 staff members.

Short of 1,245 staff members, HC orders state to expedite proposals for additional workforce

Considering the gravity of the situation, the high court had initiated a suo moto action on December 17, 2024, highlighting the issues it was facing due to the staff shortage. A report submitted by the court’s Prothonotary and Senior Master stated that there were delays in annexing, binding, and paginating documents, as well as inadequate storage and digital infrastructure, which were affecting board preparation and case proceedings.

On Friday, a division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata expressed their concerns over the mounting delays in day-to-day functioning. “Some of us are not even getting the scanned petitions. There are hardly 10 copies that are properly scanned,” said the bench, adding, “When we inquire, the technical staff says the machines are not functioning or online documents are not opening.”

The court registry’s petition highlighted other issues: “Illustratively, many times the files are not located or traced, the documents filed in the form of affidavits/replies by parties are not annexed timely, not bound, and paginated correctly, as required for the record. Sorting and filtering of matters becomes difficult.”

The staff shortage is also impacting the court’s bid to go completely digital, as all the cases are not being uploaded on its e-filing system. “The already overburdened staff is required to do additional work, which elongates their work hours on a daily basis”, the petition added.

Apart from its current staffing shortage, the court also focused on its future needs. “We have a future requirement when the new high court building is constructed. We must consider this. Litigation is changing, especially commercial litigation,” it said. A new complex for the high court is being constructed in Bandra to deal with a severe space crunch at its historic Fort building.

Advocates PM Palshikar and Aditya Udeshi, representing the high court registry, informed the bench that a proposal detailing the staffing requirements had been sent to the state government in December 2024. Another proposal, submitted on Thursday, projected the court’s staffing needs for the next 15 years.

Recognising the urgency of the matter, the court directed the principal secretary of the state’s general administration department and the secretary of the finance department to promptly review the proposal and finalise a plan of action within four weeks. Additional government pleader Abhay Patki assured the court that the state government would consider the proposals as soon as possible.