No abnormal increase in judicial vacancies, claims government

NEW DELHI: After the Supreme Court pulled up the government over alleged delay in appointment of judges to the higher judiciary, government sources claimed that there was “no such abnormal increase” in the vacancies in the high courts. Government sources said that the data analysis for the last 10 years suggested that the “number of vacancies varies from 265 to 280” and the “working strength of judges in high courts has remained almost same, around 600.” The current working strength is high courts is 620.

The source said that the government had added 173 new posts in the last two years that has contributed to the vacancies in high courts. While the UPA government added 20 new posts of high court judges, the NDA government has added 173 new posts in 2015 and 2016.

“The average annual rate of appointment of judges” in high courts has not dipped in the last two years of Modi regime barring April-December, 2015, during the litigation on the constitutional validity of NJAC when the entire process was put on hold, the source said.

Annual rate of appointment of high court judges had jumped up by 63%, if April-December 2015 is excluded in calculations, the source said. Sources reiterated that the government respected the judiciary and its independence and expressed willingness to make “all out efforts to see that the vacant posts are filled up.” Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had allayed apprehensions against government’s motive during the ongoing stand-off with judiciary over finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure regarding the appointment of judges.

Prasad had told Parliament in the monsoon session that top functionaries of his government had fought for the freedom and institutions during Emergency and remained committed to it.