New Delhi: The Supreme Court’s working strength would by year end fall to a low of 18 judges against the sanctioned strength of 31 if the government, locked in a standoff with the judiciary, continues resisting fresh appointments.
Those due to retire this year include Chief Justice Dipak Misra (October 2) and Justices J. Chelameswar (June 22), Madan B. Lokur (December 30), Kurian Joseph (November 29), R.K. Agrawal (May 4) and A.K. Goel (July 7).
Four of them – Justices Misra, Chelameswar, Lokur and Kurian Joseph – are members of the collegium, a panel of the five senior-most judges that recommends the appointments, promotions and transfers of apex court and high court judges. (The lone remaining member, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, will become Chief Justice on October 3.)
Sources said any further delay in appointments could hobble the apex court’s functioning at a time it has a backlog of 60,000-plus cases while hundreds more are filed every day.
On Mondays and Fridays, marked as "miscellaneous" days, each Supreme Court bench is bogged down with 70-odd new cases. On the remaining weekdays, the benches hear about 30-40 cases each.
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