153 new high court judges appointed in 2022 alone: report

New Delhi: India has appointed 153 new judges in various high courts in 2022. Six additional judges were appointed to the Bombay High Court on Thursday. Sources hint that more appointments will be made in the recent future.

PTI reported that the government is also set to take a call on the elevation of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta to the Supreme Court soon. If he is appointed to the top court, its strength will go up to 30. The sanctioned strength of the SC including the Chief Justice of India is 34.

The process of appointing the next CJI is also likely to start early next week. The Union law minister will write to the current CJI the name of the successor. When Justice Uday Umesh Lalit retires on November 8, Justice D Y Chandrachud is the senior-most judge in line.

Many judges have pointed out the overflowing condition of the judicial system and demanded more judges be appointed. Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju last week called to strike a balance to address the burden on judges and people. He said that "we cannot make judges work like machines" while noting the public's struggle to get access to the judiciary.

Rijju pointed out that the pendency of cases in India is about to cross 4.8 crores. "From SC to the lower court, each judge in India is handling 50-60 cases. How can a judge deliver justice, if he has to dispose of 50-60 cases?"