Lucknow, July 15 -- Uttar Pradesh is considering setting up 9,149 additional courts to reduce the huge pendency burden in trial courts and meet the requirements arising out of new laws, Uday Pratap Singh, principal secretary (Law) and legal remembrancer, told HT. He said the proposal was under active consideration jointly by the Uttar Pradesh government and the Allahabad high court as part of the recommendations of the Justice Sikri Committee, which laid down broad modalities for strengthening judicial infrastructure in states. "Based on the modalities communicated to all high courts across the country, the Allahabad high court has assessed the requirement of 9,149 additional courts in Uttar Pradesh," Singh said. He clarified that establishing such a large number of courts would be a phased exercise and would take time. Meanwhile, the state government has decided to set up 14 additional motor accident claims tribunals (MACTs) and four more special Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act courts. Singh claimed that Uttar Pradesh ranked first in the country in disposal of Pocso Act cases. Nevertheless, nearly 90,000 cases remain pending in Pocso Act courts across the state. Singh said frequent court orders altering service rules in response to writ petitions have emerged as a major hurdle in advertising and filling regular vacancies in the lower judiciary. He said the state government, with the high court's approval, has notified 368 Civil Judge (Junior Division) posts. The UPPSC will soon issue the recruitment advertisement, while the PCS (J) preliminary examination process has already begun....