Judge appointments are not public recruitment, they are still alive in shortage: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court said on Wednesday (May 14, 2025) that the process of appointing a high court judge is not like the “normal recruitment” in “public services” and the judiciary is still alive.

The court asked the petitioner to leave the matter to the administrative side.

“These are High Constitutional Offices. These are not normal recruitment for public services. You can’t say that the defendants of 1 (Center) and 2 (High Court) are not in this case,” the court said.

“I ask you to leave this matter to the administrative aspects of respondents 1 and 2. Everyone related to the judicial system is alive. It’s not without effort,” the court said.

Additional Deputy Attorney General Chetan Sharma said the Supreme Court is already dealing with broader issues related to the appointment of judges.

Petitioner advocate Amit Sahni tried to withdraw his defense and moved to the top court.

The plea for the “shocking and long-term shortage” of the High Court judges seeks emergency judicial intervention, saying it “adversely affects the timely distribution of justice and the functions of the judiciary”.

The request said that according to the approved force, the Delhi High Court should have 60 judges, including 45 permanent and 15 judges, but only 36 judges are at work.