1. Appointment of ad-hoc judges — Status of recommendations for filling vacancies in courts. (Para 2 )
Back
Next 
2022 Supreme(SC) 1639
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S. Oka, Vikram Nath, JJ.
Lok Prahari Through Its General Secretary S.N. Shukla I.A.S. (Retd) – Appellant
Versus
Union of India & Ors. – Respondents
Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No. 1236 of 2019
Decided On : 14-09-2022
Advocates appeared:
Mr. Amrendra Kumar Mehta, Advocate, For the Appellant / Mr. K. K. Venugopal, Ld. AG, Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, Advocate, Mr. Atmaram N.S. Nadkarni, Sr. Advocate, Mr. D. L. Chidananda, Advocate, Ms. Preetika Dwivedi, Advocate, Mr. Abhishek Mohanty, Advocate, Mr. Divyakant Lahoti, Advocate, Mr. Parikshit Ahuja, Advocate, Ms. Praveena Bisht, Advocate, Ms. Vindhya Mehra, Advocate, Ms. Madhur Jhavar, Advocate, Mr. Kartik Lahoti, Advocate, Mr. Sachin Patil, Advocate, Mr. Geo Joseph, Advocate, Mr. Durgesh Gupta, Advocate, Mr. Kunal Chatterji, Advocate, Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Advocate, Mr. Rohit Bansal, Advocate, Mr. Romy Chacko, Advocate, Mr. Sudesh Kumar Singh, Advocate, Mr. Malak Manish Bhatt, Advocate, Mr. Sahil Tagotra, Advocate, Mr. Abhishek Pandey, Advocate, Mr. Abhivyakti Banerjee, Advocate, Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, Advocate, Mr. Md. Apzal Ansari, Advocate, Mr. Arjun Garg, Advocate, Mr. Shobhit Jain, Advocate, Mr. Aakash Nandolia, Advocate, Ms. Sagun Srivastava, Advocate, Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra, Advocate, Mr. Niranjan SAhu, Advocate, Mr. Debabrata Dash, Advocate, Mr. U. K. Mishra, Advocate, Mr. Gopal Singh, Advocate, Mr. Mukul Kumar, Advocate, Ms. Uttara Babbar, Advocate, Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Advocate, Mr. P. I. Jose, Advocate, Mr. Jenis Francis, Advocate, Ms. Radhika Gautam, Advocate, Mr. Ashwarya Sinha, Advocate, Mr. T. G. Narayanan Nair, Advocate, Mr. Amit Sharma, Advocate, Mr. V. Balachandran, Advocate, Mr. Siddharth Naidu, Advocate, for M/S. KSN & Co., Advocate, Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, Advocate, Mrs. Shashi Pathak, Advocate, Mr. Sharan Thakur, Advocate, Mr. Mahesh Thakur, Advocate, Mr. Siddharth Thakur, Advocate, Ms. Vipasha Singh, Advocate, Mr. Ajay Kanojiya, Advocate, Ms. Shivani, Advocate, Mr. Bishwendra Singh, Advocate, Mr. Mustafa Sajad, Advocate, Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, Advocate, Ms. Eliza Bar, Advocate, Mr. Avneesh Arputham, Advocate, Ms. Anuradha Arputham, Advocate, Mr. Praveen Kr. Singh, Advocate, M/S. Arputham Aruna And Co, Advocate, Ms. Vanshaja Shukla, Advocate, Mr. Sajal Singhai, Advocate, Mr. K. S. Gill, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Advocate, Mr. S. K. Rajora, Advocate, Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Advocate, Ms. Sandhya S. Ram, Advocate, Ms. Sawti S. Gill, Advocate, Ms. Poornima Chopra, Advocate, Mr. Naresh K. Sharma, Advocate, Mr. Siddharath Dharmadhikari, Advocate, Mr. Aaditya A. Pande, Advocate, Mr. Bharat Bagla, Advocate, Mr. Rajat Nair, Advocate, Mr. Neela Kedar Gokhale, Advocate, Mr. B. K. Satija, Advocate, For the Respondent.
Mr. Amrendra Kumar Mehta, Advocate, For the Appellant / Mr. K. K. Venugopal, Ld. AG, Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, Advocate, Mr. Atmaram N.S. Nadkarni, Sr. Advocate, Mr. D. L. Chidananda, Advocate, Ms. Preetika Dwivedi, Advocate, Mr. Abhishek Mohanty, Advocate, Mr. Divyakant Lahoti, Advocate, Mr. Parikshit Ahuja, Advocate, Ms. Praveena Bisht, Advocate, Ms. Vindhya Mehra, Advocate, Ms. Madhur Jhavar, Advocate, Mr. Kartik Lahoti, Advocate, Mr. Sachin Patil, Advocate, Mr. Geo Joseph, Advocate, Mr. Durgesh Gupta, Advocate, Mr. Kunal Chatterji, Advocate, Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Advocate, Mr. Rohit Bansal, Advocate, Mr. Romy Chacko, Advocate, Mr. Sudesh Kumar Singh, Advocate, Mr. Malak Manish Bhatt, Advocate, Mr. Sahil Tagotra, Advocate, Mr. Abhishek Pandey, Advocate, Mr. Abhivyakti Banerjee, Advocate, Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, Advocate, Mr. Md. Apzal Ansari, Advocate, Mr. Arjun Garg, Advocate, Mr. Shobhit Jain, Advocate, Mr. Aakash Nandolia, Advocate, Ms. Sagun Srivastava, Advocate, Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra, Advocate, Mr. Niranjan SAhu, Advocate, Mr. Debabrata Dash, Advocate, Mr. U. K. Mishra, Advocate, Mr. Gopal Singh, Advocate, Mr. Mukul Kumar, Advocate, Ms. Uttara Babbar, Advocate, Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Advocate, Mr. P. I. Jose, Advocate, Mr. Jenis Francis, Advocate, Ms. Radhika Gautam, Advocate, Mr. Ashwarya Sinha, Advocate, Mr. T. G. Narayanan Nair, Advocate, Mr. Amit Sharma, Advocate, Mr. V. Balachandran, Advocate, Mr. Siddharth Naidu, Advocate, for M/S. KSN & Co., Advocate, Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, Advocate, Mrs. Shashi Pathak, Advocate, Mr. Sharan Thakur, Advocate, Mr. Mahesh Thakur, Advocate, Mr. Siddharth Thakur, Advocate, Ms. Vipasha Singh, Advocate, Mr. Ajay Kanojiya, Advocate, Ms. Shivani, Advocate, Mr. Bishwendra Singh, Advocate, Mr. Mustafa Sajad, Advocate, Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, Advocate, Ms. Eliza Bar, Advocate, Mr. Avneesh Arputham, Advocate, Ms. Anuradha Arputham, Advocate, Mr. Praveen Kr. Singh, Advocate, M/S. Arputham Aruna And Co, Advocate, Ms. Vanshaja Shukla, Advocate, Mr. Sajal Singhai, Advocate, Mr. K. S. Gill, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Advocate, Mr. S. K. Rajora, Advocate, Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Advocate, Ms. Sandhya S. Ram, Advocate, Ms. Sawti S. Gill, Advocate, Ms. Poornima Chopra, Advocate, Mr. Naresh K. Sharma, Advocate, Mr. Siddharath Dharmadhikari, Advocate, Mr. Aaditya A. Pande, Advocate, Mr. Bharat Bagla, Advocate, Mr. Rajat Nair, Advocate, Mr. Neela Kedar Gokhale, Advocate, Mr. B. K. Satija, Advocate, For the Respondent.
Addressing the issue of making recommendations for ad-hoc judges in courts with large vacancies and arrears.
Headnote:
Exemption - Court Procedure - The court allowed applications seeking permission, exemption from filing affidavit, and exemption from filing original vakalatnama/other document. The court also requested the Attorney General to address the issue of making recommendations for ad-hoc judges in courts with large vacancies and arrears.
Fact of the Case:
The court allowed applications seeking permission, exemption from filing affidavit, and exemption from filing original vakalatnama/other document. The court also disposed of an application for interim relief.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that there is a need to address the issue of making recommendations for ad-hoc judges in courts with large vacancies and arrears.
Issues: Permission, Exemption, Recommendations for Ad-hoc Judges
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was influenced by the need to address the issue of making recommendations for ad-hoc judges in courts with large vacancies and arrears.
Final Decision: The court allowed the applications seeking permission and exemption, and disposed of the application for interim relief.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Submission regarding the need for additional time to file a status report on recommendations for ad-hoc judges. (Para 2 )
3. Observation that the 20% vacancy bar for ad-hoc judge recommendations may be inadequate for courts facing significant arrears in specific subjects. (Para 3 )
4. Applications for exemption allowed — Status report on ad-hoc judge recommendations requested — Interim relief application disposed of. (Para 1 , 4 , 6 )
5. Does a fixed percentage bar on vacancies for ad-hoc judge recommendations adequately address court arrears in specific subjects?
The court observed that while a 20% vacancy bar exists for making recommendations for ad-hoc judges, some courts with large vacancies and arrears in specific subjects remain troubled, suggesting the process may need adjustment. (Para 3 , 4 )
ORDER
1. Applications seeking permission, exemption from filing affidavit and exemption from filing original vakalatnama/ other document are allowed.
2. Learned Attorney General submits that he needs sometime to file status report as to whether any recommendation on ad-hoc judges have been made and the fate thereof.
3. Another aspect, with experience, we are finding is that though we have put a bar of not more than 20% vacancies for making recommendation for ad-hoc judges, the fact remains that some of the Courts where there are large number of vacancies are also troubled with arrears and in some specific subjects.
4. We request learned Attorney General to give a thought to this process as to how this particular aspect can be addressed.
5. List on 27th September, 2022 on the top of the Board.
IA No. 150265/2019 - GRANT OF INTERIM RELIEF
6. In view of the orders passed today, the application stands disposed of.
