Justice M.Y. Eqbal is new Chief Justice of Madras High Court. He succeeds Mr. Justice H. L. Gokhale, who along with Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra has been recommended by Supreme Court collegium for elevation to the Supreme Court. <br/><br/>The apex court will get a women judge after more than four years since the last female judge of the Supreme Court Justice Ruma Pal retired in November 2006.<br/><br/>There are 265 vacancies of the High Court judges in the country. Union Law Minister M Veerapa Moily has indicated that the government is working out a strategy to fill all the vacancies in the higher judiciary within the next six months.<br/><br/>As a result of the shortage of judges, pendency of cases in the 21 high courts of the country has gone beyond 38 lakh.