"We know it. They adopt a step-motherly treatment with the judiciary. They don't bother about district judges or their facilities. It happens in every city," a Bench of Justices B N Aggrawal, P P Naolekar and D K Jain observed, while hearing a matter relating to judicial appointments and the plea for a single civil court in the capital.

The apex court observed that while there are no proper court rooms for judges in the country, those in the executive like District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and others are provided well-furnished accommodations.

"You have the experience. You know it better," the Bench remarked at senior counsel and former Law Minister Arun Jaitely, who was appearing for the Delhi Bar Association.

The apex court noted that such was the poor infrastructural facilities for the judiciary in the country that even store rooms and corridors are being converted in several places, including for using them as court halls.

"You are being uncharitable. Because even corridors are being used for court halls," the Bench observed, when Jaitley submitted that at several places storerooms or office rooms were converted as court halls.

Earlier, Jaitley arguing on behalf of the bar association contended that a peculiar situation had arisen in the capital where as many as nine civil courts were functioning, putting the bar and the litigants to difficulty.

According to the bar, the location of nine civil courts was unnecessary since all over the country the practice was to have only one civil court for the city or a district.

The association cited cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad as instances where there were only one civil court for the entire city.

Jaitley, quoting a 2002 figure, said out of the 600 sanctioned posts of judicial officers for the subordinate and Delhi High Courts only 400 had been filled up leaving a backlog of 200 vacancies.