Judges' appointment, vacancies, pendency key challenges before Law Minister Meghwal
vacancies in the higher judiciary and pending cases, and finalising the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) are the key challenges before Arjun Ram Meghwal who was allocated the law portfolio on Monday. The MoP is a set of documents which guide the appointment, elevation and transfer of high court and Supreme Court judges.
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Meghwal was appointed as minister of state for law and justice with independent charge in May last year when he replaced Kiren Rijiju.
After the Modi 3.0 government was sworn in on Sunday, Meghwal was appointed as a minister of state with independent charge.
On Monday, he was allocated the law portfolio, an area he is already aware of.
According to data shared by the government with Parliament, over five crore cases are pending across courts — the lower courts, the 25 high courts and the Supreme Court.
There are various reasons for the rising pendency but one of key reasons is vacancies in the judiciary.
As on June 1, while there are two vacancies in the top court, posts of 345 judges are vacant in the high courts.
While the sanctioned strength of the apex court is 34, the 25 high courts have a combined sanctioned strength of 1,114.
Another key issue will have to handle is the finalisation of the MoP.
Seeking to replace the Collegium system of appointments of judges of the
