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Aware of large-scale vacancies, audit underway: Delhi HC after Saket court clerk’s suicide

The Delhi High Court's remarks came while dealing with a PIL seeking the court’s direction to lodge an FIR in the case of an ahlmad who allegedly died by suicide.

The Delhi High Court said it is aware of staff shortages in district courts and has ordered an audit to assess vacancies and workload.The Delhi High Court said it is aware of staff shortages in district courts and has ordered an audit to assess vacancies and workload. (File image)

The Delhi High Court said Wednesday it is “conscious” of filling the large-scale vacancies in class-3 clerk positions in district courts and is awaiting an audited report on the vacancies available and the strength required to handle the courts’ work before taking further action.

The remarks by the Division Bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia came while dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the court’s direction to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) in the case of an ahlmad, who allegedly died by suicide on January 9.

Harish Singh Mahar, 43, who was posted at Delhi’s Saket Court complex, had cited “work pressure”.

The PIL also sought the court’s direction to the high court registrar to immediately fill the vacancies of the clerical staff.

The bench, while dealing with the PIL filed by Anand Legal Aid Forum Trust, remarked orally, “You must know he was posted as an ahlmad as promotion in November 2025.  Prior to that, he was having more strenuous work. He was posted in a court handling digital files.”

Publicly available data shows there are 11 digital traffic challan courts in Delhi: 2 in Tis Hazari court, 2 in Saket court, 1 in Dwarka, 3 in Karkardooma, 1 in Patiala House court, and 2 in Rohini court complex. The two digital traffic courts in Saket, each on average, deal with over 300 cases daily.

Collectively, the digital traffic courts in Delhi are hearing close to 1.2 lakh cases, with the average pendency per court at around 10,000; one court has a pendency of close to 30,000, as statistical reports suggest.

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‘Appropriate steps are being taken’

Addressing the petitioner, CJ Upadhyaya orally said, “So far, filing of vacancies, we are conscious of the fact. We (HC on the administrative side) have also ordered an audit for vacancy and occupancy, and the requirement for it (clerical staff). Depending on the audit report, we will act on it. In addition, whatever relief is legally permissible is also being extended to the deceased’s family. So, I think we immediately swung into action. I don’t think anything is lacking.”

The court also noted that the police inquiry into the alleged suicide, as laid out under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), is ongoing, and thus “further action which may be warranted in law will depend on the outcome of proceedings of section 194 of BNSS”, and does not warrant any court directions at this juncture with respect to lodging of an FIR.

Disposing of the PIL, the bench recorded that the high court’s administrative side has informed that “appropriate steps are being taken by the HC on the administrative side to fill up the vacancies and make an overall audit for rationalisation of work among class 3 employees.”

“We have no doubt in mind that such a course of action, as stated by (HC registrar), shall be evolved in the shortest possible time and adequate steps will be taken to fill up the vacancies,” the court recorded while disposing of the PIL.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.  2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More

 

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