Former Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, has called on the government to invest much more in judicial infrastructure to better manage the growing caseload in India’s courts. He highlighted that nearly 21% of posts in the district judiciary are currently vacant.
In an interview the recently retired CJI pointed out that the judge-to-population ratio in India is among the lowest globally, making it difficult for the existing judges to handle the volume of cases. We don’t have enough judges in the district judiciary to manage the caseload. The first step is to increase the judge-to-population ratio by appointing more judges, he stressed.
Chandrachud also emphasized the importance of appointing qualified judges and increasing investment in judicial infrastructure, which he feels has been insufficient. Governments need to invest much more in infrastructure. Currently, about 21% of district court posts are vacant, and 27% of the staffing positions in district courts remain unfilled, he added.
To address the issue, Justice Chandrachud proposed an All India Judicial Service Examination. One solution to fill the vacancies in district courts is an all-India examination. States would recruit from this nationwide list, with merit and reservations applied as per each state’s requirements, he explained.
