CHENNAI: Of the sanctioned strength of 75 judges, Madras high court has 12 vacancies, and another 12 are to arise in the next one year. Citing this, the Bar council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has written to the union minister of law and justice, Kiren Rijiju to ensure that while appointing judges to the high court, the government and collegium should afford equal opportunity to all eligible and suitable aspirants from all class and categories, including minorities and women lawyers.
A delegation of lawyers from the state, led by senior advocate and DMK MP P Wilson, met the union minister on Thursday and handed over the letter.
Citing the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), the letter said about 5.8 lakh cases are pending before Madras high court, out of which 1.02 lakh cases, including 58,701 criminal case,s had been pending for more than a decade.
“This makes the Madras high court, the fourth largest in the country in terms of pendency of cases,” the letter stated and added that it is high time to fill the vacancy of judges in the court.
Judiciary reflects and meets the aspirations of people and hence while appointing judges, the names of candidates hailing from all class and categories may be considered and they may be provided with adequate representation to ensure socio-economic justice and social diversity in the higher judiciary, the letter stated.
The letter also pointed out that Chief justice of India N V Ramana, during his first interaction with high court chief justices, asked chief justices of all high courts to ensure that recommendations for judicial appointments to the high courts reflect the social diversity of the country.
