The Supreme Court of India has raised serious concerns over the increasing backlog of cases in the Allahabad High Court, highlighting the urgent need to fill judicial vacancies. The Court noted that each judge in the Allahabad High Court currently handles an overwhelming 15,000 to 20,000 cases, significantly impacting the speed of justice delivery.
Background
The Supreme Court was hearing a writ petition filed by 95-year-old Kamla Bai, who had sought directions to expedite her Second Appeal No. 1285/2013, which had been pending in the Allahabad High Court for over a decade. The bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan took note of the larger issue of delayed case disposals and decided to treat this petition as a representation to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
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The Supreme Court acknowledged the severe backlog of cases in the Allahabad High Court, emphasizing that the root cause was the severe shortage of judges. The Court stated:
"In the last two months, we have come across many writ petitions filed by litigants whose proceedings are pending before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad for more than three decades, seeking directions for speedy hearings."
"The High Court has a sanctioned strength of 160 judges but unfortunately is working with only 84 judges at present. The backlog of cases continues to rise, making it extremely difficult for litigants to get timely justice."
The Court stressed that the only viable solution to tackle this backlog was to fill the judicial vacancies without further delay by appointing judges purely based on merit and ability.
To address the issue, the Supreme Court issued the following directives:
The Registry shall forward a copy of the writ petition and the Supreme Court’s order to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
The Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court is expected to take necessary administrative measures to address case pendency and judicial vacancies.
The petition has been disposed of, but the Court has directed the Allahabad High Court to take appropriate action on its administrative side.
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In response to similar concerns about case backlog across various High Courts, the Supreme Court has recently passed directions to enable the appointment of retired High Court judges as ad hoc judges to tackle the issue of judicial vacancies and backlog.
This move is expected to help reduce case pendency, particularly in High Courts like Allahabad, which are struggling with a heavy caseload.
