HCs in northeast lack judges: Law ministry

IANS AGARTALA, MAY 2 The working strength of judges in three of the five high courts in the northeastern states was much less than the sanctioned strength, according to the union law ministry. It said the working strength of judges in five high courts of the northeast -- Gauhati, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura -- was 27 against the sanctioned strength of 40. An official document from the union ministry of law and justice said the working strength of judges at the Gauhati High Court, which has jurisdiction in Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, was 14 against the sanctioned strength of 24. The Meghalaya High Court currently has two judges against the sanctioned strength of four, the working strength at the Sikkim High Court was two against the sanctioned strength of three. At the Tripura (4) and Manipur (5) High Courts, the working strength was equal to the sanctioned strength. “Separate high courts for the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram have not been established because the state governments have not yet completed creation of necessary infrastructure in these states,” the ministry document said.