'Authorities Are Alive To The Situation': Delhi High Court Closes PIL Seeking Expeditious Filling Of Judicial Vacancies

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (May 14) closed a PIL seeking expeditious filling of the judicial vacancies in the Court by elevating eligible District Judges and Advocates from the Bar.

The PIL was filed by lawyer Amit Sahni as petitioner in person.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that everyone associated with functioning of the judiciary is alive to the situation.

“Do you think respondents 1 (Union of India) and 2 (Delhi High Court) are not alive to the situation? They are not aware of the problem?” the Chief Justice told Sahni.

To this, Sahni responded that the situation has become grave due to judicial vacancies as even the cases in supplementary lists are not taken up.

The Chief Justice then responded that the issue must be dealt with administratively as these are appointment to highest constitutional offices and not normal recruitment to public service.

“You cannot say that the respondents 1 and 2 are not alive to the situation. Leave the entire matter to be dealt with by both the respondents on the administrative side,” the Court said.

ASG Chetan Sharma appeared for the Union Government and referred to pending proceedings before the Supreme Court in Advocates Association of Bengaluru case (2021). He said that the issue raised in the PIL is being monitored by the Apex Court, including more broader issues of SoPs and appointments.

Accordingly, Sahni sought permission to withdraw the petition and said that he intended to approach the Supreme Court in the pending proceedings.

“Accordingly, nothing is left to be adjudicated any further in these proceedings. The petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms,” the Court said.

The Delhi High Court has a sanctioned strength of 60 judges. As per the plea, the Court was currently functioning with only 36 judges, reflecting a vacancy rate of 40%.

“This serious shortfall has arisen due to retirements, recent inter- court transfers, and inaction in appointing judges despite the constitutional mandate and existing Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) requiring appointments to be initiated well before vacancies,” the plea said.

It referred to recent retirement of Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta as well as transfers of Justice Yashwant Varma, Justice C.D. Singh, and Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma to other High Courts.

It further stated that two more retirements are expected in the coming months (of Justice Dharmesh Sharma and Justice Shalinder Kaur) which will reduce the strength to 34 judges, which will further exacerbate the pendency and judicial delays.

The PIL stated that the issue would concern the middle and lower socio-economic classes the most as the said groups often face significant delays in accessing justice due to the overburdened court system.

It further added that by appointing more judges, the High Court can handle cases more efficiently, reduce pendency, and ensure quicker resolution of disputes in the larger public interest.

“The issue raised in the petition is essential for speedy disposal of cases to avoid erosion of public faith in judicial system. Not only the issue raised in the petition would benefit public at large, but the Hon'ble Judges as well because the excessive caseload on the existing benches adversely affects the health, morale and judicial efficiency,” the plea stated.

Title: AMIT SAHNI v. UNION OF INDIA (MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE) THROUGH ITS SECRETARY AND OTHERS 

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 549