NEW DELHI — Following persistent criticism over judicial delays, the government proudly announced Tuesday the appointment of 30 new judges across four High Courts, a decisive move expected to make a negligible dent in the over 60 lakh pending cases before the appointees' two-year tenures run out.

Law Ministry officials celebrated the batch of 23 advocates and seven judicial officers, noting that filling less than 10 percent of the 341 current vacancies against a sanctioned strength of 1,112 proves the executive's commitment to swift justice. "By adding these temporary additional judges, we are sending a strong message to the six million litigants waiting for a hearing," a spokesperson said. "That message is to please continue waiting."

The executive branch was quick to clarify that any remaining delays are entirely the fault of High Court collegiums. Officials pointed to a similar triumph in July 2023, when the notification of 22 appointments successfully allowed the government to issue a press release while the perpetual state of backlog continued exactly as before.

"We are doing our part to overhaul the judicial infrastructure," the Law Minister stated, reading from a prepared statement that blamed the collegium system for delays, before carefully placing the 30 new temporary contracts onto a desk straining under the weight of over 60 lakh active case files.