By Sagarika Rastogi
The President of India has appointed six permanent judges to the Bombay High Court, exercising their powers under Article 217(1) of the Constitution. This decision was undertaken by the Supreme Court Collegium after careful consideration of the judges’ performance and suitability. The Collegium was headed by Chief Justice of India, B.R. Gavai.
The judges elevated to permanent status are Justice Sanjay Anandrao Deshmulth, Justice Vrushali Vijay Joshi, Justice Abhay Jainarayanji Mantri, Justice Shyam Chhaganlal Chandak, Justice Neeraj Pradeep Dhote, and Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan. The Bombay High Court handles the highest number of cases. The permanent nomination of the judges has provided much-needed security for the HC and reduced workload.
With these appointments, the number of permanent judges has risen to 55. The sanctioned strength of the Bombay High Court is 94, and at present it has 82 judges—the highest since the strength was last increased. Members of the bar credit the record-low vacancy rate of less than 13% to Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, acknowledging his persistence and efforts in making this possible.
Generally, judges are initially appointed on a limited tenure, often two years—after which, according to their conduct, integrity, and work ethic, they are evaluated by the Collegium before embarking on the stature of being a permanent judge. The government’s acceptance of the Collegium’s recommendation in this case reaffirms the importance of judicial independence and adherence to established procedures.
Given the large backlog of cases, this development is expected to improve the efficiency of the Bombay High Court, strengthen its ability to deal with complex matters, and help reduce delays in the delivery of justice.
The Indian judiciary is facing a lot of challenges and case backlogs, and therefore, this reform has presented a significant opportunity for judicial reforms. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have a huge number of pending cases that go up to 1.15 crore and 54.22 lakh cases, respectively.