Judicial officer vacancies continue to affect court functioning in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: A total of 115 judicial officer posts out of 560 sanctioned posts are lying vacant in district and subordinate courts of Telangana. In AP, 65 out of 639 posts are vacant. Across the country, a total of 4,721 sanctioned posts are vacant out of a total of 25,843 posts.

“Recently, I visited a district court on the city outskirts, and the judge was acting as the in-charge judge in three courts. It was a helpless situation as most cases were being given the next hearing date, which is months away. The same is the case with most district and taluk courts as judges and public prosecutors are overburdened. Unless vacant posts are filled, the pendency will continue to pile up,” said D Rohith Palsingh, advocate with over 10 years of practice.

Advocates pointed out that all the vacant posts should be filled in one go instead of filling a few every year, so that the pendency will not increase any further. “Right now, once a case is filed, it takes about three to five years to come to trial. The best way to ensure speedy disposal is to ensure that all vacant posts are filled, as filling 20-30 posts every year is not going to make any difference,” said Srikanth Pulipaka, an advocate.

They said that most courts being run by junior judges is also an issue, as though they clear the required exams, they do not have practical knowledge.