The Allahabad High Court has adjourned a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning the expeditious filling of judicial vacancies, scheduling the next hearing for July 21, 2025. The bench, comprising Justice Vivek Kumar Birla and Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha, noted that the grievance raised in the PIL might be resolved by then, as the process for filling vacancies is already underway .

The PIL, filed by Senior Advocate Satish Trivedi in March 2025, highlights a severe shortage of judges in the Allahabad High Court. Despite a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, the court currently operates with only 87 judges, leading to a backlog of over 1.1 million cases. The petition describes the court as being in a “state of functional paralysis” and calls for the establishment of binding guidelines to streamline the judicial appointment process, ensuring strict adherence to timelines prescribed under the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) .

The Supreme Court has previously expressed concerns over the judicial vacancies in the Allahabad High Court, directing that the matter be treated as a representation to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court for appropriate action .

The Allahabad High Court has scheduled the next hearing for July 21, 2025, to further address the issue of judicial vacancies and the associated backlog of cases.

Sources