Overview

• The Supreme Court has pressed the Centre to clear 17 pending Collegium recommendations from 2023 and 2024 to address critical High Court judge shortages.
• Over 7 lakh criminal appeals are pending across Indian High Courts, with Allahabad, Bombay, Calcutta, and Delhi courts facing severe backlogs.
• High Courts are operating far below their sanctioned judge strength, with Allahabad functioning at less than 50% capacity and similar gaps in other major courts.
• The Supreme Court recently published detailed demographic and procedural data on 406 judicial recommendations to enhance transparency in the appointment process.
• Recommendations for digitisation of records and use of AI translation tools were proposed to streamline case management and reduce delays.