With over 40 lakh cases pending in various High Courts across the country, 285 posts are lying vacant in higher judiciary which is 31 per cent of the sanctioned strength of 895 judges.
The Allahabad High Court has a sanctioned strength of 160 judges as on September 1 but only 61 posts are occupied, which is just 38 per cent of the strength, while 99 remain vacant.
Moreover, till December 31, 2012 seven judges are scheduled to retire, the reply says.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily had said last year that over 9.5 lakh cases are pending in the Allahabad High Court.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court is also facing shortage of judges as there are only 43 judges against the sanctioned strength of 68 while 25 positions are vacant.
The Himachal High Court is the only one with full strength as all 11 posts of judges are occupied.
The Gujarat High Court is also working with a little over half of its sanctioned strength of 42 as there are only 24 judges and five more are scheduled to retire by December 31 next year, the reply from Department of Justice to activist Subhash Agrawal said.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court is also facing shortage of judges as 16 posts of the total 49 are lying vacant as one September 1, 2011.