Ludhiana, May 31 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought a response from the Punjab government over vacancies in the Punjab Education Tribunal.

The court has directed the government to inform it about the steps taken to fill the vacant and soon-to-be-vacant posts before the next hearing scheduled on July 8.

The directions came on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Association of United College Teachers (AUCT),alleging that prolonged delays in appointments had left hundreds of education-related cases pending for months.

According to the petition, the Punjab Education Tribunal is a three-member body comprising a chairman, an administrative member and an academic member. The tribunal is headed by chairman Ashok Kumar Verm...