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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Acute shortage of judges at all levels ails our judicial system

Acute shortage of judges at all levels ails our judicial system

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published Published on Sep 6, 2011   modified Modified on Sep 6, 2011

-The Economic Times

 

The impending shortage of judges in the Supreme Court might grab headlines. But it is only the most visible aspect of a problem that ails our entire judicial system, right from the lowest to the highest level: the acute shortage of judges.

So, come October, when seven of the judges of the apex court are due to retire, the Supreme Court will find itself functioning with less than 75% of its sanctioned strength. The position in high courts all over the country is no better.

According to news reports, with the exception of Himachal Pradesh, there is not a single high court in the country that is functioning at full strength. No new judges have been appointed to the Allahabad High Court for more than two years.

The reasons for this dismal state of affairs may vary from state to state, but there is no denying the higher judiciary must share a great deal of the blame.

Under the present 'collegium' system - a consequence of a long and convoluted struggle between the executive and the judiciary - the power of appointment to top judicial posts vests in a collegium of senior judges, with the executive virtually playing second fiddle.

Apart from being opaque, the system has simply failed to deliver. It is not uncommon for higher courts to remain without their full strength for months. The problem is much worse at lower levels, where we have the maximum backlog of cases.

Data collected by the Supreme Court shows that, as at the end of December 2010, 3,170 posts - or a little over 18% - of the total sanctioned strength of 17,151 were lying vacant. Unfortunately, few state governments seem serious about addressing the problem.

Poor salaries and miserable infrastructure, especially in the lower courts, compound the problem since the best legal brains have no incentive to join.

Is it any wonder then that courts are unable to make headway in delivering on what the Supreme Court has ruled is a fundamental right: the right to speedy trial? What is the solution? An all-India judicial service on the lines of the other all-India services - there is a provision for this in the Constitution - and reform of the collegium system.

The Economic Times, 7 September, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/acute-shortage-of-judges-at-all-levels-ails-our-judicial-system/articleshow/9889329.cms


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