<span style="color: #222222;">The government today said there is no shortage of judges in Supreme Court. <br />''<br />''It said the apex court has reached its full strength of 31 judges for the first time since 2009. <br />''<br />''This was stated by Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a written reply in Lok Sabha. <br />''<br />''Mr Prasad, however, said there are 403 vacancies in High Courts as on 1st of this month. He also said the appointment of judges in High Court is a continuous collaborative process between the Executive and the Judiciary. <br />''<br />''He also said 59331 cases are pending in apex court and 43.55 lakh are in high courts as on 1st of July this year. He clarified that delay in disposal of cases in higher judiciary is not due to shortage of judges but also due to various factors including an increasing number of state and central legislation, accumulation of first appeals, frequent adjournments, and long duration of the vacation period. <br />''<br />''The Minister informed that the CJI has sent proposals for augmenting the judges' strength in Supreme Court as well as to increase the retirement age of High Court judges. He said these proposals need to be considered along with other measures to ensure transparency, accountability in the appointment of judges and Court and Case management for a reduction in pendency of cases in higher judiciary.</span><br />