Tripura High Court Chief Justice T. Vaiphei has a unique problem in his court, prompting him to write to the Supreme Court.
The High Court has only three judges. Though it has a sanctioned strength of four judges, one post has been lying vacant.
Chief Justice Vaiphei wrote to the Supreme Court, saying if a litigant wants one of the sitting judges to recuse from hearing his case, justice delivery would become a casualty. The court found that there are at least 26 cases caught in this quandary.
During the open-court hearing on Chief Justice Vaiphei’s urgent letter on Monday, Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar raked up how delay in filling up judicial vacancies in High Courts have put justice delivery mechanism in a tight spot.
Justice Khehar pointed out to Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi that the collegium hardly takes time to recommend names for filling judicial vacancies, it is the government which delays the process.
“As far as recommendations are concerned, we don’t take time, you only take time,” Justice Khehar told Mr. Rohatgi.
The court has now asked the Registrar-General of the Tripura High Court to find out in two weeks as to how many of these litigants in the 26 cases would like to transfer their cases to the neighbouring Gauhati High Court.
At one point during the hearing, the Bench asked the government to consider passing a directive under Article 224A of the Constitution whereby a person who has held the office of a High Court judge can be asked by Chief Justice Vaiphei, with the consent of the President, to fill in at the Tripura court.
