Introduction:
Judicial pendency in the Supreme Court affects access to justice, rule of law and public confidence in the judiciary. Increasing the sanctioned strength of judges is necessary to handle the rising caseload, but it is not a complete solution because pendency is also caused by procedural and institutional bottlenecks.
Body:
Why increasing judge strength is necessary?
- The Supreme Court performs constitutional, appellate and advisory functions.
- More judges can enable more benches and faster disposal of pending cases.
- It can help in regular constitution benches for important constitutional questions.
- It reduces pressure on existing judges and improves hearing capacity.
Why it is not sufficient?
- Vacancies must be filled in time; otherwise, higher sanctioned strength remains ineffective.
- A large number of Special Leave Petitions under Article 136 convert the Court into a routine appellate forum.
- Frequent adjournments, lengthy arguments and delayed listing slow down disposal.
- Pendency also depends on registry efficiency, courtroom infrastructure and research support.
- Government being a major litigant adds avoidable appeals and delays.
- Weaknesses in High Courts and subordinate courts ultimately increase pressure on the Supreme Court.
Way Forward:
- Timely appointments and vacancy reduction.
- Strict case management and adjournment control.
- Better filtering of SLPs.
- Strengthening lower judiciary and digital courts.
- Reducing unnecessary government litigation.
Conclusion:
Thus, increasing the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is an important immediate reform, but judicial pendency requires a comprehensive approach involving procedural discipline, institutional capacity and litigation reforms.
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Supreme Court Pendency and the Limits of Judge Expansion