Guwahati, Oct. 11: As many as seven posts of judges are lying vacant at Gauhati High Court at present.

The high court has a sanctioned strength of 24 judges but at present 17 judges are functioning who also have to look after the outlying benches of the high courts in Kohima, Aizawl and Itanagar.

Moreover, Gauhati High Court is one among five high courts in the country, which are headed by acting Chief Justices.

The high court is functioning without a permanent Chief Justice since August 2014 when the then Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Abhay Manohar Sapre, assumed charge as a Supreme Court judge.

After that, senior-most Judge K. Sreedhar Rao was appointed the acting Chief Justice of the high court.

He is due to retire on October 20 this year, which will lead to another vacancy.

An official source said Article 223 of the Constitution states that when the office of the Chief Justice of a high court is vacant or when any such Chief Justice is, by reason of absence or otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office, the duties shall be performed by one of the other judges of the court as the President may appoint for the purpose.

The Union government had used this provision to appoint an acting Chief Justice in the high court.

The vacancies of judges in the high court are waiting to be filled up at a time when there is no system to appoint or elevate judges to the higher judiciary.

The earlier collegium system, where the Chief Justice of India and two to four senior-most senior judges of the Supreme Court recommended names of other judges for appointment and elevation, has been done away with by the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act. Though the new body - NJAC - is yet to take shape.

The new law, which scrapped the collegium system, came into force on April 13 this year but the Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on a number of petitions challenging the validity of the NJAC.

Therefore, no judge can be elevated as Chief Justice of a high court, transferred to another high court or elevated to the Supreme Court as there is no system in place for the purpose.

Senior Gauhati High Court advocate Bhaskar Dev Konwar said judges are overburdened with work in the present system of court functioning.

"After sitting in court for about five hours, judges have to sign and correct orders, dictate judgments and also look after administrative and other work. It is time that the strength of Gauhati High Court is increased to at least 32 judges and more court rooms are constructed," Konwar said.