One judge for 18.7 lakh people: vacancy, pendency crises plague High Courts

Delhi High Court cites judge shortage as cause list backlog grows, highlighting systemic challenges in Indian judiciary.

In a rare and candid observation, the Delhi High Court last week cited the “acute shortage of judges” as a key reason for its inability to hear all cases listed in its daily cause list. The comment serves as a sobering reminder of the systemic challenges confronting the judiciary.

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The observation came during the hearing of a routine application by a man accused of cheating and forgery, who was seeking permission to travel abroad. Though incidental, the remark has drawn attention to a longstanding issue plaguing the judiciary — chronic judicial vacancies across India.

The Delhi High Court currently functions with only 36 judges, well below its sanctioned strength of 60. This means nearly 40% of judicial posts remain vacant. The court is simultaneously grappling with a staggering backlog of 1,34,090 pending cases.

According to the latest data from the Department of Justice, India’s 25 High Courts have a combined sanctioned strength of 1,114 judges. As of now, only 769 judges are in position, leaving 345 posts, or over 30%, vacant.

These 769 judges are responsible for clearing a backlog of 62,96,798 cases pending across High Courts.

The Allahabad High Court leads with the highest number of vacancies — 81 out of 160 sanctioned posts. It also faces the heaviest caseload, with 11,76,229 cases pending, according to the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). The Punjab and Haryana High Court follows, with 32 vacancies against a strength of 85. Only the Sikkim and Meghalaya High Courts report zero vacancies.