The Supreme Court on Thursday opined that a reasonable time-frame should be mandated within which Union Law Ministry has to respond to the names recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment as judges of High Courts. The delay by Central government in processing names recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment as judges of High Courts prompted Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul to make the suggestion while hearing a a plea by NGO Lok Prahari on appointment of retired judges to Supreme Court under Article 128 of the Constitution. Justice Kaul revealed there are many names which have been cleared by the Supreme Court Collegium but are pending with the Union Law Ministry for more than 6 months. Senior advocate and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Vikas Singh submitted that Supreme Court lawyers should also be considered for appointment as judges of High Courts. Currently, the twenty-five High Courts in the country are functioning with 661 judges though the combined sanctioned strength of the High Court is 1,080. Thus, the vacancy position as on March 1, 2021 is 419.