Approved strength of judges enough to end backlog: Law panel head
Law Commission of India Chairman and former
Supreme Court judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan has said “working judges”, and
not increasing sanctioned strength of judges, may be a solution to modern-day
demands of judicial workload caused by the heightened legal awareness among the
public about their liberties.
Details:
According to Justice Balbir Singh, “Increasing
the sanctioned strength of judges will not solve the problem. We need working
judges.”
Why workload has increased?
Workload has increased because of an increase in
awareness among the public and education. There has also been an expansion of
liberty.
What needs to be done now?
Steps should be taken to fill the sanctioned
strength rather than increase the number of judges over and above the current
sanctioned strength to solve pendency.
Background:
His view comes at a time when the Supreme Court
has directed the Law Commission to file a report within a year on whether it is
permissible to rid the apex court of routine appeals crowding the court, to
help it focus on cases of national and public interest. Also, Chief Justice of
India T.S. Thakur had recently called for over 70,000 more judges to be
appointed to courts all over the country to clear the backlog.
- The present vacancies in the High Courts number over 480 when the sanctioned strength is 1079.
