Lawyer & Activist Amit Sahni moves Delhi High Court highlighting alarming judge shortfall and its impact on justice delivery.
Last month, a single judge of the Delhi High Court expressed pain while noting that due to a shortage of judges, all listed matters could not be taken up.
Currently, a Public Interest Litigation is filed before the Delhi High Court seeking urgent directions to address the severe shortage of judges in the High Court. Advocate and Activist Amit Sahni arrays the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court (through Registrar General), and the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) as respondents and urges the court to intervene in the face of growing pendency and delayed justice delivery.
As per the data cited in the petition, against the sanctioned strength of 65 judges, the Delhi High Court is currently functioning with only 36 judges, leaving 29 posts vacant after retirements of Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta and transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma, Justice C.D. Singh, and Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma.
The petitioner has contended that this 40% shortfall is hampering the effective functioning of the judiciary and disproportionately affecting litigants from economically weaker sections. The PIL further noted that 2 more judges – Justice Dharmesh Sharma and Justice Shailender Kaur- are due to retire, which would lead to a shortage of 48 % judges.
“It is deeply concerning that such a premier constitutional court is operating at half its capacity. The citizens’ right to timely justice is being compromised,” Sahni stated in the petition. He further highlighted that several judicial appointments, recommended by the High Court Collegium and pending with the Central Government, have not been acted upon, aggravating the crisis.
The PIL also cites the observations of Justice Girish Kathpalia regarding the shortage of Judges as under, “……. On account of acute shortage of judges as compared to the general population and the litigation quantum, for past long time, the list of regular matters does not reach till the end of the day of hearing. Rather, many a time even beyond 05:00 pm when the Courts rise for the day, some of the matters remain unheard, which is extremely painful for the judge……”
Furthermore, the PIL points to data released by the Department of Justice, which confirms the high vacancy rate, and urges the Court to seek a status report from the Ministry regarding the timeline for filling up the existing vacancies. It also prays for directions to expedite the appointment process in a time-bound manner and to ensure better coordination between the Judiciary and the Executive.
Citing past judicial pronouncements by the Supreme Court, the petition emphasizes that delay in filling judicial vacancies directly violates citizens’ right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The matter is likely to be listed for urgent hearing next week.
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