In Brief

The Supreme Court, acting sua moto under Article 142, addressed critical vacancies in India's District and Subordinate Judiciary. Out of 22,036 sanctioned positions in Higher Judicial Service and Civil Judge cadres, 5,133 posts (23%) were vacant. Approximately 4,180 were under recruitment while 1,324 had no recruitment process initiated. The Court declared these vacancies wholly unacceptable and directed all High Courts and State Governments to submit detailed information on recruitment timelines, compliance with previously set schedules, infrastructure adequacy, and additional vacancies occurring during recruitment. Senior counsel were appointed as Amici Curiae to assist the Court across different regions, with the matter listed for further hearing on 1 November 2018.

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