The Hindu : Front Page : Madras High Court strength of judges increased to 60

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Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008
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Madras High Court strength of judges increased to 60

J. Venkatesan

Chief Justice asked to recommend names for filling new vacancies

New posts created with effect from August 1
The present strength of judges is 45

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday issued a notification increasing the sanctioned strength of judges in the Madras High Court from 49 to 60, of which 33 will be permanent and 27, additional judges. With four vacancies, the present strength of judges is 45.

Union Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj has conveyed the government’s decision to the Madras High Court Chief Justice A.K. Ganguly and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. He asked the Chief Justice to recommend names for filling the new posts.

The Law Minister’s communication referred to the Chief Justice’s letter to Mr. Karunanidhi on June 26 regarding enhancement of the strength by 20 judges in order to clear the arrears of cases within a timeframe.

Mr. Bhardwaj said, “With the approval of the Government of Tamil Nadu, it has been decided to increase the judge strength of the Madras High Court by 11 judges. With this increase, the approved strength will become 33 permanent and 27 additional judges. The new posts will be deemed to have been created with effect from August 1.”

He said “I shall be grateful if you could send your proposals for filling of vacancies from the Bar and judicial service. The need for giving representation to SC/ST, OBCs, minorities and women may also please be kept in view while making recommendations for fresh appointment to the High Court.”

The move to increase the strength of judges was pending consideration after the constitutional authorities had approved the proposal. Considering the huge backlog of cases in various High Courts, the Centre had contemplated increasing the strength of judges in various High Courts in a phased manner.

The present total sanctioned strength of all 21 High Courts is 876 and the working strength is 594 with 282 vacancies as on April 22. The total pendency of cases, both civil and criminal in the 21 High Courts as on December 31, 2007 is 37, 43,060.

Pendency

The pendency in Madras High Court is 4, 28,832, including 3, 92,824 civil cases and 36,008 criminal cases. Increasing the strength of judges to 60 is expected to considerably increase the rate of disposal and reduce the pendency in the Madras High Court.

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