Odishatv Bureau
Bhubaneswar:  Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal to enhance the approved strength of High Court judges from existing 22 to 27.
 
In a letter to the minister, Patnaik reasoned that the pendency of cases in the High Court compared to 2003 has increased substantially.
 
“The state government is therefore of the view that it is time the approved strength is increased to 27 in line with the earlier proposal of Justice S Barman Roy,” the letter read.
 
The CM further stated that the strength of permanent judges should be increased to 17 and that of Additional Judges to 10, taking the total number of judges to 27.
 
Sources said, the number of cases pending before the High Court has gone up to 3.5 lakh. Besides, the number of cases instituted everyday has far exceeded those disposed.
 
In his letter Naveen has agreed that the state government would provide the required financial and staff support to sustain the increased strength.
 
“The Acting Chief Justice of Orissa High Court has also agreed to this proposal,” he said.
 
 
 
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