SC expresses concern over vacancy of judges in HCs

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed anguish over the recalcitrant attitude of government in not appointing judges for high courts for years even where recommendations have been cleared by the Collegium.

While referring to vacancies, the apex court said high courts are manned by number of judges where it will become almost impossible to have early adjudication of even important matters.

The top court said the government must realise that early adjudication of commercial disputes is the necessity for which there has to be adequate number of judges.

A bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy said that judicial institution is faced with such scenario despite the timeline laid down by the apex court in its April 20 this year order which appears to have not moved the government.

We have put to the ASG (Additional Solicitor General) that the recommendations take months and years to reach the Collegium and thereafter months and years no decisions are taken post the Collegium, the judicial institution of the High Courts is manned by a number of judges where it will become almost impossible to have an early adjudication even on important issues, the bench said.

The top court made the observations while hearing two separate pleas against an order of the Delhi High Court which had issued notice on a petition and interlocutory applications calling upon the parties to file responses in a matter pertaining to challenge to a notification for initiating anti-dumping investigation.

The bench noted that this can hardly be a stage of a proceeding where the Supreme Court of the country should be asked to step in.

Delhi High Court will be with less than 50 per cent judges in a week's time having only 29 judges out of a strength of 60 judges while two decades back when one of us (Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul) was appointed as a judge it was as the 32nd judge of court whereas the strength was 33 judges, the bench noted in its order.

It said normally it would have asked the parties to approach the high court to see an early adjudication to the dispute but it can hardly say so when the high court is manned with less than half the strength.

We are facing the problem raised in these petitions on account of the recalcitrant attitude of the government in not appointing high court Judges for years together even where the recommendations have been cleared by the Collegium, the bench said.

It said the real rub is in the fact that high court does not find it feasible to accommodate such matters at an early date and this is the direct result of there being inadequacies of number of judges, including in the capital of the country, where the Delhi High Court is located.

The bench noted if there is some element of loss being caused by inability of judicial institution to take up matters, this is a direct consequence of there being inadequate number of judges.

In view of all the aforesaid, the government must realise that early adjudication of commercial disputes is the necessity for which there has to be adequate number of judges which in turn would require them to follow the timelines said down in ., the bench said.

It said the factual matrix paints an even a sorrier picture of the government's conduct as the high court had on June 4 issued notice and called upon counter affidavits to be filed within four weeks.