The high courts are gradually shutting down, thanks to a two-year old feud between the executive and the judiciary. Out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,079 high court judges, the actual working strength is 601. The Karnataka High Court is the most badly hit with a shortfall of over 50 per cent. The Allahabad High Court has a sanctioned strength of 160 judges but has an actual strength of 78. Judges are not being appointed fast enough as a result of which litigants are made to suffer. There is a backlog of nearly four crore cases in the country and the government and judiciary ought to be increasing
the number of judges. But, this has become a contentious issue. Following a 1993 SC order, the collegium system, which gave the judiciary primacy in appointment of judges,
came into play. The present BJP government sought to reverse
this with the National Judicial Appointments Commission
(NJAC), which would appoint judges. This was struck down by
the Supreme Court on grounds that it violated the Constitution
and the impasse continues till today. Suggestions made by one
side are rejected by the other. A compromise needs to be struck
before the wheels of justice come to a grinding halt.
