Bhubaneswar/New Delhi, November 14: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Dr Sasmit Patra has written to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, urging him to take urgent steps to fill the growing number of judicial vacancies in the Orissa High Court.

In his letter, Patra highlighted that following the retirement of Chief Justice Harish Tandon on November 15, 2026, the High Court's working strength will decline to just 13 judges against its sanctioned strength of 33. This will leave 20 posts vacant, accounting for approximately 60.6 per cent of the total sanctioned strength, significantly higher than the national average vacancy rate of around 26 per cent across High Courts.

Patra pointed out that despite the induction of judges through transfers during 2025, subsequent retirements and transfers have reduced the Court's working strength from 20 judges in December 2025 to 13 at present.

He emphasised that the situation calls for urgent attention, particularly in view of the substantial pendency of cases before the High Court. According to data presented in Parliament in August 2026, the Orissa High Court had 1,70,346 pending cases, of which 38,936 had remained unresolved for more than 10 years. The figures were provided in the Union Government's reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3371, answered on August 7, 2026.

Highlighting the need to strengthen the judiciary and address the mounting backlog of cases, Patra requested the Union Law Minister to facilitate the filling up of vacant judicial posts in the Orissa High Court in consultation with the appropriate constitutional authorities.

He also called for a coordinated and time-bound approach to ensure that the vacancies are filled at the earliest, thereby strengthening the Court's institutional capacity and improving the delivery of justice.