On Thursday, the Supreme Court welcomed three new judges, reaching its sanctioned capacity of 34 judges. Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma of the Delhi High Court, along with Chief Justices Augustine George Masih of Rajasthan and Sandeep Mehta of Gauhati, were sworn in as Supreme Court judges. This swift appointment followed the recommendation of the apex court Collegium.
This development comes amid a looming challenge of case backlog, with the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) dashboard projecting a potential surge to 80,000 cases within the next 24 hours. The Collegium, in its recommendation on November 6, acknowledged the persistent issue of pending cases and expressed its commitment to addressing the backlog by filling judicial vacancies. Despite administrative and institutional changes implemented in 2022 in response to the pandemic, the backlog remained around the 70,000 mark.
The timely inclusion of these new judges reflects the Collegium’s proactive approach to strengthen the judiciary and address the challenges posed by the increasing number of pending cases.
