CHANDIGARH, Aug. 9 — More than 2,000 advocates have signed a requisition demanding immediate appointments to 283 vacant high court judgeships nationwide, warning that delays, favoritism, and a “judge-son/relative nexus” are eroding public trust in the higher judiciary.
The petition, initiated by senior advocate Tahar Singh and co-signed by advocate Sarbjeet Singh, includes over 2,000 members of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar. It calls for filling 35 vacancies in that court — now 26 after 10 judges were sworn in Aug. 4 — and for launching the elevation process at least six months before vacancies arise “instead of waiting till close relatives of judges or the Union law minister become eligible.”
Citing more than 62 lakh pending high court cases across India, the signatories argue the backlog could be cleared within four years if the posts are filled with “honest, hardworking and dedicated” judges who can dispose of 25 cases a day, working 240 days a year.
The four-page document urges a ban on elevating advocates from the same Bar to the same high court, to avoid conflicts from prior professional ties. It calls for a transparent and transferable system modeled on the Indian Administrative and Police Services, in which officers cannot serve in their home districts. More than 100 experienced advocates, it says, are willing to take oaths and serve out of state.
Other proposals include a five-year transfer policy for high court judges; retrospective probes into disproportionate assets, even after retirement; raising the minimum age for high court elevation to 50, and for senior advocate designation to 45; and ensuring only those “known for their honesty and unbiased conduct” are recommended. The collegium of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, it says, should apply these criteria without delay.
The requisition also calls for recusal rules in the collegium system: “If any relative of a collegium member is practicing in the same court, the member should recuse himself on ethical and moral grounds.” It warns that corruption in the judiciary is at an “all-time high,” citing scandals involving Justice Yashwant Verma, Justice Narayan Shukla, and the cash-for-bail racket at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court.
Praising retired Supreme Court judges Kurien Joseph, J. Chelameswar, Madan B. Lokur, Sanjeev Khanna, B.R. Gavai, and Abhay S. Oka for refusing post-retirement government posts, the signatories urge all sitting judges — starting with Justice Surya Kant in seniority — to follow suit.
The appeal closes with a direct message to the Chief Justice of India and fellow Supreme Court judges to take “moral and institutional responsibility” for implementing reforms. “When the history of India’s judicial system will be read, the names of you and your colleagues will be remembered,” it says, invoking former CJI M.N. Venkatachaliah, who introduced the 1993 transfer policy.
