New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS): The Centre on Friday cleared the appointment of a judge in the Rajasthan High Court.

In a post on X, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that President Droupadi Murmu was pleased to appoint advocate Maneesh Sharma as a Judge of the Rajasthan High Court.

“In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Maneesh Sharma to be a Judge of the Rajasthan High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office,” said a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on October 6, 2021, had approved the proposal for the elevation of advocate Maneesh Sharma to the Bench.

The Chief Justice and Judges of the High Courts are to be appointed by the President under clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution.

As per the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) regulating the appointment of HC judges, as soon as the warrant of appointment is signed by the President, the Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Justice will inform the Chief Justice and a copy of such communication will be sent to the Chief Minister. The Secretary to the Government of India will also announce the appointment and issue necessary notification in the Gazette of India.

On Thursday, the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice said that there are 367 vacancies of judges in various High Courts and a shortage of 5,320 Judicial Officers in the district and subordinate judiciary in different states.

Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told Lok Sabha that while every effort is made to fill the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies of judges in High Courts keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of judges and increase in their sanctioned strength.

He said, “Since May 2014, the government has increased the sanctioned strength of High Court Judges from 906 to 1,122 (as on date). Under the collaborative effort between the government and the judiciary, 1,013 Judges have been appointed in various High Courts since 2014 till February 10, 2025."

As per the data provided by Meghwal in a reply in Lok Sabha, there are two vacancies of judges in the Supreme Court against a sanctioned strength of 34.