4,432 vacancies of judges in subordinate courts

There are 4,432 vacancies of judges in subordinate courts in the country as on December 31 last year, government said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad said 2,447 new court rooms were under construction, even as he assured that the government was concerned about improving the condition of subordinate courts in the country.

"As per information made available by the High Courts, the sanctioned strength and working strength of judges/judicial officers in subordinate courts stood at 20,502 and 16,050 respectively as on December 31, 2015. There were 4,432 vacancies.

"At the same time, 16,513 court halls/court rooms were available for subordinate courts and 2,447 court halls/court rooms were under construction," he said in a written reply.

Replying to supplementaries, he said the primary responsibility for development of infrastructural facilities for subordinate courts rested with the state governments and the High Courts execute the projects.

"I will ensure that work is speeded up on the construction of new courts. We would want the condition of subordinate judiciary to improve," Prasad said.