New Delhi: The Central Government has told the Parliament that the number of pending cases in the higher courts due to an acute shortage of judges is a matter of concern, but until a new system is implemented in place of the collegium system for their appointment. Till this issue will not be resolved. Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday (December 15) told the Rajya Sabha that the issue of high judicial vacancies will continue unless the process of appointment of judges is changed.
Holding judicial vacancies responsible for the rising pendency across the country, Kiren Rijiju said the government has limited power to fill judicial vacancies, however, urged Supreme Court and high court judges to ensure that to recommend names of quality judges. These statements of the Union Law Minister have come in the midst of ongoing contrasts between the Central Government and the Judiciary regarding the process of appointment of Justices in the Higher Judiciary. At the same time, the apex court has recently expressed displeasure over the comments made by government officials against the collegium system. The court had said that no one can stop the government from enacting a new law, but as long as the existing law of appointments is there, it should be followed.
Kiren Rijiju further said that he has recently sent back the names of 20 judges to the Supreme Court Collegium. As on 9 December 2022, against the authorized strength of 1,108 High Court judges, 777 judges are working, leaving 331 (30 percent) vacancies. In the name of these 331 vacancies, 147 proposals have been received from the High Court. The Government has not received any proposal regarding the remaining 184 vacancies. He said that till December 9, the government has appointed 165 judges in the High Court, which is a record.
Along with this, Kiren Rijiju said that the Supreme Court should hear only those matters which are relevant and worthy of consideration for the Constitution Court. If the Supreme Court starts hearing bail petitions and other frivolous PILs, it will certainly put an additional burden on the Hon'ble Court. The Law Minister said that there are 70,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court. At the same time, 4.5 crore cases are pending in the lower courts. We must ask the judiciary to ensure that all deserving people get justice and that those who are obstructing the process should also be taken care of.
Responding to a question, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice SP Singh Baghel has said that the issue of vacation in the Supreme Court in winter and summer comes under the purview of the judiciary and the government should not take a decision on its own to end it. However, he said that there is no harm in the government talking to the Chief Justice (CJI) in this regard.
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