Senior BJP leader and former MLC N. Ramchander Rao on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court collegium’s decision to increase the number of judges for the Telangana High Court from 24 to 42 and termed it a ‘golden day’ for legal fraternity and people of TS on Wednesday.
Addressing a virtual press conference, Mr. Rao, also a senior advocate and Bar Council of India - legal education committee member, said that about 2.10 lakh cases were pending in the High Court and once the full-fledged judiciary appointments are made, he expected these to be resolved expeditiously. “Judges for the TS HC would be chosen from among the legal fraternity here and the TS judicial services,” he affirmed.
The BJP leader pointed out that the HC here and even in AP were functioning with 10-12 judges only in recent times and never functioned in full sanctioned strength but he was sure new appointments would be made in time as Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had quickly signed on the increased bench strength file as soon as it was cleared by the SC collegium.
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Mr. Rao said that he, along with party Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy, National OBC Morcha president K. Laxman, legal cell president K. Anthony Reddy and Bar Council of Telangana president A. Narasimha Reddy had been lobbying with the Centre for increasing the judges’ strength, led delegations and had also presented memoranda to Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad in the last couple of years.
Mr. Kishan Reddy in a separate statement hailed the development and called it a ‘momentous occasion’ for the Telangana judiciary as it had been a long-pending demand.