Official Gazette Notification Text
Official TranscriptGOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3251 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 7TH AUGUST, 2026 VACANCIES IN THE JUDICIARY 3251. SHRI TANGELLA UDAY SRINIVAS: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies of Judges in the Supreme Court, High Courts and subordinate...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3251 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 7TH AUGUST, 2026 VACANCIES IN THE JUDICIARY
3251. SHRI TANGELLA UDAY SRINIVAS:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies of Judges in the Supreme Court, High Courts and subordinate courts, State-wise, as on date;
(b) the number of judicial appointments made and vacancies filled during the last five years, year-wise;
(c) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of the impact of judicial vacancies on pendency of cases and, if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the steps taken or proposed to expedite judicial appointments and strengthen judicial capacity for timely disposal of cases? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)
(a): The data on Sanctioned Strength, Working Strength and Vacancies of Judges in the Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Courts, State-wise, as on 03.08.2026, are at Annexure I and Annexure II.
(b) to (d): Appointment of Judges in the higher judiciary is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the executive and the judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities both at State and Central level. From 2014
(May) till 03.08.2026, 77 Judges have been appointed in the Supreme Court and 1178 Judges have been appointed in various High Courts.
The number of judicial appointments made and vacancies filled during the last five years in Supreme Court and High Courts, year-wise is as under:
Year Supreme Court High Courts 2021 09 120 12022 03 165 2023 14 110 2024 04 34 2025 07 157 2026(as on 05 22
03.08.2026) Further, filling up of vacant positions of the judicial officers in District and Subordinate courts is the responsibility of the High Courts and State Governments concerned. As per the Constitutional framework, in exercise of powers conferred under the proviso to Article 309 read with Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution, the respective State Government, in consultation with the High Court, frames the rules and regulations regarding the appointment and recruitment of Judicial Officers. The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order passed in January 2007 in the Malik Mazhar Sultan case, has inter-alia stipulated certain timelines, which are to be followed by the States and the respective High Courts for recruitment of judges in District and Subordinate Courts.
The details of Sanctioned and Working Strength of Judicial Officers in the District and Subordinate Courts, during the last five years, year-wise is as under:
Year Sanctioned Strength Working Strength 2021 24492 19328 2022 25077 19319 2023 25345 20018 2024 25753 20694 2025 25900 21093 2026(as on 30868 23558
03.08.2026) Disposal of cases pending in various courts lies within the domain of the Judiciary.
Disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia, include availability of adequate number of Judges and Judicial officers, supporting court staff, physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, quality of investigation, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz bar, investigation agencies, witnesses, litigants. However, the Government is fully committed for speedy disposal of cases and reducing pendency. The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary which, inter-alia, involves timely appointment of Judges, better infrastructure for courts including computerization, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, promoting Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, enactment and implementation of New Criminal Laws 2023, establishment of Fast Track Special Courts, re-engineering of court procedure and emphasis on human resource development.
****** 2ANNEXURE-I STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3251 FOR ANSWER ON 07.08.2026 REGARDING ‘VACANCIES IN THE JUDICIARY’ Sanctioned Strength, Working Strength and Vacancies of Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts, State-wise, as on 03.08.2026 Name of Court Sanctioned strength Working strength Vacancies A. Supreme Court 38 35 3 B. High Court 1 Allahabad 160 107 53 2 Andhra Pradesh 37 32 5 3 Bombay 94 75 19 4 Calcutta 72 41 31 5 Chhattisgarh 22 13 9 6 Delhi 60 44 16 7 Gauhati 30 24 6 8 Gujarat 52 34 18 9 Himachal Pradesh 17 12 5 10 J & K and Ladakh 25 12 13 11 Jharkhand 25 13 12 12 Karnataka 62 48 14 13 Kerala 47 36 11 14 Madhya Pradesh 53 37 16 15 Madras 75 51 24 16 Manipur 5 3 2 17 Meghalaya 4 4 0 18 Orissa 33 17 16 19 Patna 53 43 10 20 Punjab & Haryana 85 55 30 21 Rajasthan 50 39 11 22 Sikkim 3 2 1 23 Telangana 42 27 15 24 Tripura 5 4 1 25 Uttarakhand 11 8 3 Total 1122 781 341 3ANNEXURE-II STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3251 FOR ANSWER ON 07.08.2026 REGARDING ‘VACANCIES IN THE JUDICIARY’ Sanctioned Strength, Working Strength and Vacancies of Judges in the Subordinate Courts, State-wise, as on 03.08.2026 Sl. No. States/UTs Sanctioned Working Vacancy strength strength
1. Andhra Pradesh 739 565 174
2. Arunachal Pradesh 53 39 14
3. Assam 486 445 41
4. Bihar 2032 1658 374
5. Chandigarh 30 30 0
6. Chhattisgarh 677 500 177
7. D & N Haveli 3 2 1
8. Daman & Diu 4 4 0
9. Delhi 950 832 118
10. Goa 60 57 3
11. Gujarat 1720 1185 535
12. Haryana 787 648 139
13. Himachal Pradesh 192 172 20
14. Jammu and Kashmir 322 267 55
15. Jharkhand 710 498 212
16. Karnataka 2812 1172 1640
17. Kerala 614 574 40
18. Ladakh 17 8 9
19. Lakshadweep 5 2 3
20. Madhya Pradesh 2051 1683 368
21. Maharashtra 5247 4350 897
22. Manipur 72 47 25
23. Meghalaya 99 57 42
24. Mizoram 74 45 29
25. Nagaland 34 24 10
26. Odisha 1183 854 329
27. Puducherry 38 26 12
28. Punjab 834 696 138
29. Rajasthan 1712 1517 195
30. Sikkim 36 31 5
31. Tamil Nadu 1400 1204 196
32. Telangana 619 474 145
33. Tripura 133 119 14
34. Uttar Pradesh 3700 2618 1082
35. Uttarakhand 318 280 38
436. West Bengal Andaman and Nicobar 1105 875 230 Total 30,868 23,558 7,310
Source: Nyaya Vikas Portal 2.0 5