The Punjab and Haryana High Court is facing a worsening crisis. The number of pending cases has crossed 4.28 lakh. The court is also running with nearly half its sanctioned judge strength.
At present, the court has only 51 judges. The approved strength is 85. This shortfall is affecting the pace of justice delivery.
The situation is expected to worsen. Two judges — Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul — are set to retire this year. Nine more judges are due to retire in 2026.
The bench lost two judges earlier this month. Justice Arun Palli was promoted as Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. Justice Karamjit Singh retired on 16 April.
Those retiring in 2026 include Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal, Justice SP Sharma, Justice GS Gill, Justice Anil Kshetarpal, Justice Meenakshi I Mehta, Justice Archana Puri, Justice Sukhvinder Kaur, and Justice Sanjiv Berry.
The court has recommended names of district and sessions judges from Punjab and Haryana for elevation. This comes after a gap of more than two years. However, the process is lengthy and may take months.
The last recommendation for elevation of advocates was made nearly two years ago. No new appointments have been made since then.
The current pendency stands at 4,28,394 cases. Of these, 2,62,125 are civil cases and 1,66,269 are criminal matters. Many of these cases are old and have been pending for years.
Efforts have been made to reduce the burden. Since January, around 4,000 cases were cleared. But the progress is slow.
According to the National Judicial Data Grid, about 18 per cent of the total cases have been pending for less than a year. This amounts to 79,098 cases.
Seventeen per cent of the cases, or 71,175, have been pending for one to three years. Eight per cent, or 32,574 cases, have been pending for three to five years.
Nearly 1,23,526 cases have been pending for five to ten years. That is 29 per cent of the total.
Worryingly, 28 per cent of cases — 1,22,021 — have been pending for more than ten years.
The lack of judges is putting immense pressure on the system. Justice is getting delayed, and people are losing faith.
There are reports that the high court is now reviewing names of advocates for possible elevation. But the appointment process is time-consuming.
Once the high court collegium clears names, they go to the state governments and governors. Background checks are done by the Intelligence Bureau. Then the Supreme Court collegium reviews the file.
After that, the Union Law Ministry clears the names. The final appointment is made by the President of India.
This process often takes several months. Delays at any stage slow things further.
The shortage of judges is not new. But the urgency to act has never been clearer. Without quick appointments, the justice system will continue to suffer.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court needs immediate attention. Strengthening the bench is key to restoring faith in the system.
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