New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday called for the filling of vacancies in the judiciary across the country on a priority basis, cautioning that the urgency of the task should not be at the expense of quality.

"The process of selection and appointment of judges should conform to the highest of standards. We must make haste in this regard but without compromising on quality, he said while inaugurating the Centenary Year Celebrations of Patna High Court.

He reminded the gathering that Patna High court alone was short of 12 judges. Against its sanctioned strength of 43 judges, it had just 31.

While urging that the vacancies be filled up, Mukherjee said: "The independence of the judiciary is the cornerstone of our democracy" and the "judicial system in our country should be not only accessible but also affordable."

The president asked the judges and lawyers assembled on the occasion to join hands to achieve the goal of accessible but affordable justice.

Mukherjee also stressed on the need to speed up disposal of cases, as justice delayed is justice denied. He emphasized that integration of information communication technology in Court processes is required.

Recalling the contribution of Patna High court, Mukherjee said legal luminaries produced by the Patna High court included country's first president Rajendra Prasad, Syed Hasan Imam who presided over the Indian National Congress in 1918, the first President of the Constituent Assembly, Sachchidanand Sinha and the three Chief Justices of India - Justice B.P. Sinha, Justice Lalit Mohan Sharma and Justice R.M. Lodha.

The foundation stone of the existing high court building was laid on December 1, 1913, by the then viceroy, Lord Charles Hardinge. After it was formally opened by him on February 3, 1916, the court started functioning with a chief justice and six judges.

The function was attended by Bihar Governor K.N. Tripathi, Chief Justice of India Justice H.L. Dattu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Minister of Law and Justice, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister of Communication and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad and Chief Justice of Patna High Court Justice L. Narasimha Reddy.