Centre blames High Courts for vacancies

The government has blamed the judiciary for delaying the process of judicial appointments. The government recently told the Supreme Court that the government alone can’t be blamed for judicial vacancies as many posts have been lying vacant for over five years.

Background:

The government and the judiciary have been at loggerheads with the CJI repeatedly pointing out that delay in judicial appointments was making it difficult for courts to function. 

• CJI had recently asked the Centre to show urgency in this matter. There are more than 450 vacancies in 24 high courts which have over four million pending cases.

What else has the government said?

• It has claimed that filling of judicial vacancies is its top most priority but it is the judiciary delaying the process.
• The government has pointed to the case of the Allahabad High Court, which has the “oldest” judicial vacancies dating back to 2007. Despite this, the appointment process started only recently.
• The government has clarified that there is no logjam from their side.

Appointment process:

The process of judicial appointments to the High Court is kick-started by High Court Collegiums, which shortlists the names for judgeship and forwards them to the Centre.

• The latter refers the list to the Supreme Court Collegium, which makes the final selection and returns it to the government for the necessary background checks.