Judicial appointments need synergy between judiciary, govt: Standing committee report
The report stated that out of 1,122 sanctioned judges in 25 High Courts (HCs) across the country, 203 vacancies remain without any recommendations from the HC collegiums
There must be synergy and coordination mechanism between the judiciary and government to ensure the timely processing of appointments, the standing committee, in its Demand for Grants report on the Department of Justice, said.
Department of Justice is a part of Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India.
The committee’s report, presented before the Lok Sabha on Thursday, observed that the process of judicial appointments is a critical issue requiring “urgent attention”.
The report stated that out of 1,122 sanctioned judges in 25 High Courts (HCs) across the country, 203 vacancies remain without any recommendations from the HC collegiums.
The committee highlighted that seven High Courts have over one-third of their judicial positions vacant, with Allahabad high court having the highest vacancy rate at 50%.
Additionally, the committee noted that 30 proposals, including four reiterated cases recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium, are at various stages of processing.
The report said, “...[out of ] 367 vacancies in the HCs against which recommendations for 164 fresh proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Courts have been received… 30 proposals including four reiterated cases recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment of High Court Judges are under various stages of processing… The committee feels that a coordination mechanism should be developed between the Judiciary and the Ministry of Law and Justice to track the status of appointments delays.”
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These recommendations gain significance at a time when a large sum of cash was found at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma on March 14 in New Delhi. Justice Varma has since been transferred from the Delhi High Court.
As the investigation progressed, Vice-President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar revived the debate on judicial appointments on March 25, remarking that “things would have been different” if the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act had not been struck down by the Supreme Court.
To be sure, the standing committee “considered and adopted” various Demand for Grants reports, including that of the Department of Justice, in its final sitting on March 25, before presenting them to both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.
