Chief Justice of India calls for more judges

New Delhi: An emotional Chief Justice of India, T.S. Thakur, on Sunday lamented “inaction” by executive powers to increase the number of judges from the current 21,000 to 40,000 to handle the “avalanche” of litigations even as the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, assured him of his government’s resolve in finding a solution jointly with the judiciary.

“And therefore, it is not only in the name of a litigant or people languishing in jails but also in the name of development of the country, its progress, that I beseech you to rise to the occasion and realise that it is not enough to criticise. You cannot shift the entire burden on the judiciary,” the Chief Justice of India said.

Addressing the inaugural session of Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts, Justice Thakur said that since 1987, when the Law Commission had recommended an increase in the number of judges from then 10 judges per million people to 50, “nothing has moved”.

“Then comes inaction by the government as the increase [in the strength of judges] does not take place,” he said.

He said following the Law Commission’s recommendation, the Supreme Court in 2002 had also supported increasing the strength of the judiciary. A Parliamentary Department Related Standing Committee on Law then headed by Pranab Mukherjee had also recommended taking the judge to people ratio to 50 from 10.

As of Sunday, the judge to people ratio stands at 15 judges to one million people which is less than the same ratio in the US, Australia, the UK and Canada.

“In 1987, the requirement was 40,000 judges. From 1987 till now, we have added 25 crore [250 million] in terms of population. We have grown into one of the fastest-growing economies of the world, we are inviting foreign direct investment into the country, we want people to come and make in India, we want people to come and invest in India.

“Those whom we are inviting are also concerned about the ability of the judicial system in the country to deal with cases and disputes that arise out of such investments. Efficacy of the judicial system is so vitally connected with the development,” he said, referring to Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Ease of doing business’ campaigns.