Judges' appointment, vacancies, pendency key challenges before Law Minister

Addressing the issues of vacancies in the higher judiciary and pending cases, and finalising the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) are the key challenges before Arjun Ram Meghwal who was allocated the law portfolio on Monday. The MoP is a set of documents which guide the appointment, elevation and transfer of high court and Supreme Court judges. Meghwal was appointed as minister of state for law and justice with independent charge in May last year when he replaced Kiren Rijiju. After the Modi 3.0 government was sworn in on Sunday, Meghwal was appointed as a minister of state with independent charge. On Monday, he was allocated the law portfolio, an area he is already aware of. According to data shared by the government with Parliament, over five crore cases are pending across courts -- the lower courts, the 25 high courts and the Supreme Court. There are various reasons for the rising pendency but one of key reasons is vacancies in the judiciary. As on June 1, while there are two ..