The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (AHCBA) has decided to abstain from judicial work today in protest against the alarming shortage of judges in the High Court. The court is currently functioning with only 79 judges against the sanctioned strength of 160, leading to an overwhelming backlog of cases.
Following an emergency meeting held on February 24, presided over by AHCBA President and Senior Advocate Anil Tiwari and Secretary Vikrant Pandey, the association unanimously resolved to stage the protest.
While one of their demands—reconsideration of amendments to the Advocates Act—was accepted by the Central government, the pressing issue of judicial vacancies remains unaddressed.
“In such a situation, it is natural for judicial independence to be affected,” the association wrote in a letter to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
Supreme Court Raises Alarm Over Case Pendency
The staggering backlog of 10,99,027 cases has also drawn the attention of the Supreme Court. Expressing grave concern, Justice JB Pardiwala recently remarked:
“In the last one month, we have come across many petitions whose proceedings have been pending before Allahabad High Court for three decades… It appears that the High Court of Allahabad is flooded with litigation. We are informed each judge is handling 15,000-20,000 cases. The High Court is working with only 79 judges; that means it has a vacancy of 50 percent. Litigants are waiting… The only way out is to take steps to fill up vacancies, recommending candidates on merit.”
Despite repeated calls for urgent action, judicial appointments continue to lag, leaving thousands of litigants waiting for justice. With increasing pressure from both the legal fraternity and the apex court, all eyes are now on the government’s response to this judicial crisis.
