Mere doubling of judges no solution to case pendency: SC; refuses to entertain PIL

Hearing the petition filed by BJP member and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, the CJI said not a single judge can be added as there is no infrastructure. "Adding judges is not the answer," the CJI observed.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court bench led by the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, refused to entertain a petition seeking the doubling of judges on Monday saying that it's a "populist measure".

The bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha was hearing the petition filed by BJP member and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay who sought the doubling of judges to tackle the rise in the pendency of cases. Justice Narasimha said that many commissions have examined the issue of pendency again and again and said that pendency is not going to be solved by just doubling the number of judges.

"These are all populist measures. When I was in Allahabad High Court...I was asked to fill...it's difficult to fill the 160 seats in Allahbad High Court and you are asking for 320? Have you been to Bombay High Court? Not a single judge can be added there because there is no infrastructure. Adding judges is not the answer...every evil you see doesn't require a PIL. Try getting judges to fill out the existing seats then you will see how difficult it is," the CJI remarked.

He said that many lawyers refuse judgeship and the aim is to not just fill the seats but there have to be some good judges as well. Upadhyay cited the example of US courts and said that the number of judges was more. To this, the CJI said that it is also a fact that a plea like this would not be entertained in the US or the UK.

"This kind of petition would not be entertained by either the UK or the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court doesn't even hear lawyers on whether cases should be admitted. This is because of our system. Come back with proper research.

There are problems, but these simplistic things won't be the solutions. When I was in Allahabad High Court, the then law Minister had asked to increase judges to 25%, I was like good lord, I cannot even fill 160," said CJI. The court directed Upadhyay to withdraw his plea and it was eventually dismissed as withdrawn.