CJI highlights large vacancies of judges

Patna: Chief Justice of India (CJI) T S Thakur on Saturday highlighted the large vacancies of judges in courts and said these vacancies were posing a problem in meeting the challenge of fast-increasing number of cases in courts. He requested the Prime Minister to personally look into the matter of "pending appointment" of judges.
"In the last count, there were 468 judges (in the Supreme Court and high courts) in the country against the total (sanctioned) strength of 900.This means the (higher) courts in the country are running with only half the strength," Thakur said while addressing the closing ceremony of the Patna high court's centenary celebrations here.
Justice Thakur said altogether 150 judges had recently been appointed and the appointment of 80 judges was pending government approval. The judiciary was committed to fulfilling its role and duty.
The CJI said with rising education and awareness among people, access to justice has also increased. The expectation to provide access to justice to all can't be fulfilled by the judiciary alone; the government has to be supportive in this regard and has to provide constant support, he said.
Addressing the function, Union law minister D V Sadananda Gowda said the Patna high court has produced great personalities like Rajendra Prasad and Sachchidanand Sinha. He said three judges of this high court rose to become chief justice of the apex court.
Gowda also said IT was key to a bright future of judiciary. The Centre was committed to providing all support. Recently, Rs 49 crore was given to Bihar government for infrastructure development. In the next five years, about Rs 6.6 crore would be given to judiciary. Proper facilities need to be provided to lower judiciary too, which would lead to speedy disposal of cases," he said.
CM Nitish Kumar, speaking at the ceremony, thanked PM Narendra Modi for attending the function. He said the Patna high court has given many important judicial decisions, which have been landmarks in the history of India.
He said independent judiciary is the key to democracy. Increase in population has led to increase in litigation. With changing times, the strength of judges and the infrastructure available have also increased Even though Bihar has inadequate resources, the state government was bound to provide necessary assistance to judiciary. He said it was the joint responsibility of the state and the Centre to strengthen the judiciary. A new building was under construction beside the old high court building, he said.