High Courts can't dispose of all matters quickly if running at half strength: Supreme Court

As of September 1, there were 330 vacancies still unfilled.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a plea seeking a direction to the Allahabad High Court for early disposal of an appeal that has been pending for more than 13 years. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta remarked that the high courts are not under its supervisory control and observed that with half their sanctioned strength, expecting them to deal with all cases quickly was unrealistic.

“The high courts are not under the supervisory control of this court,” Justice Nath said while refusing to intervene in the petitioner’s request.

The counsel for the petitioner had argued that despite filing two applications before the Allahabad High Court for early disposal, the matter had remained stagnant. Responding to this, the bench remarked, “Continue filing. If the high courts are functioning on half the strength, how do you expect them to cope with all the matters as expeditiously as you want? There are older matters pending. Go and make a request.”

The judges, while declining to pass any directions, permitted the petitioner to approach the Allahabad High Court again with an application for early listing and assured that “upon such an application being filed, the same would be considered accordingly.”

Justice Nath, recalling his years of practice as a lawyer in the Allahabad High Court, shared his own experience of the difficulties in getting cases listed. “Two applications is nothing. You may have to file hundreds of applications to get your matter listed,” he remarked.

The bench noted the heavy caseload and shortage of judges that high courts are grappling with. According to figures on the law ministry’s website, while the sanctioned strength of judges in high courts across the country is 1,122, they are currently functioning with only 792 judges. As of September 1, there were 330 vacancies still unfilled.