State clears proposal for 2,228 new staff in Bombay High Court to tackle manpower crisis

The Maharashtra government approved hiring 2,228 staff for the Bombay High Court to address severe manpower shortages affecting court operations.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has cleared a proposal submitted by the Bombay High Court administration to appoint 2,228 new staff members across its benches, the court was informed last week.

State clears proposal for 2,228 new staff in Bombay High Court to tackle manpower crisis

The matter stems from a suo motu action initiated by the High Court on December 17, 2024, after severe manpower shortages began disrupting its day-to-day functioning. Initially, a shortage of 1,245 employees was highlighted at the principal seat alone. The court registry later revised the figure to 2,228 by factoring in requirements at the Nagpur and Aurangabad benches.

The registry’s report had detailed how the shortfall was causing delays in annexing, binding and paginating documents, creating hurdles in board preparation and case hearings. Inadequate storage and digital infrastructure further hampered the court’s bid to streamline proceedings and transition fully to e-filing.

While hearing the matter on September 25, a division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata recorded the submissions of additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan that a high-powered state committee had approved the proposal. The file is now before chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for clearance and will subsequently be tabled before the state cabinet. The decision was communicated to the additional secretary of the state’s Law and Judiciary Department on September 24, 2025.

The bench has on earlier occasions expressed concern over the impact of staff shortages on court operations. In February this year, it remarked, “Some of us are not even getting the scanned petitions. There are hardly 10 copies that are properly scanned,” adding that technical staff often cited malfunctioning machines and non-functional online systems.

The shortage has also strained the High Court’s digital transition, with several cases still not uploaded on the e-filing system. “The already overburdened staff is required to do additional work, which elongates their work hours on a daily basis,” the court registry noted in its petition.

Apart from current requirements, the court has also flagged its long-term staffing needs. A new High Court complex is under construction in Bandra to address the space crunch at the historic Fort building. The registry has projected staffing demands for the next 15 years, anticipating rising caseloads, especially in commercial litigation.

Advocates PM Palshikar and Aditya Udeshi, appearing for the registry, told the bench that proposals on both current and future requirements had been submitted to the state government in December 2024.