Karnataka HC crippled by judges' shortage

A severe shortage of judges has handicapped the Karnataka High Court, where a whopping 2.44 lakh cases are pending as the court is functioning with only half the total number of judges sanctioned.

As per data given by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the high court stands second in the country when it comes to the shortage of judges.

Data shows that high courts across the country are in a similar state.

For example, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh has only 13 working judges against the sanctioned 37.

Karnataka is no better. The High Court is functioning with just 31 judges against the sanctioned strength of 62.

According to data, in 25 high courts, 406 posts are lying vacant against the total sanctioned strength of 1,079.

The direct result of the shortage is the piling up of pending cases, as 673 (56%) judges are working under tremendous pressure to clear cases.

In the Karnataka High Court, over 2 lakh cases are pending as of Saturday, as 31 overworked judges are working to deliver justice.

Other factors

The ministry, however, said the shortage of judges was not the only reason for the pendency of cases in the higher judiciary as various factors were at play.

Among other things, the ministry cited the increasing number of state and central legislation and accumulation of first appeals as other reasons for the pendency.