Agartala, Aug 23 - The Guwahati High Court has decided to appoint judges on contract to deal with the huge backlog of pending cases, an official said here Sunday.

'To dispose of thousands of long pending cases, Guwahati High Court's Chief Justice Jasti Chelameswar has approved the appointment of judges on contract for lower courts. Initially six contract judges have been selected for appointment for two-year terms. In legal terms, they are called 'tenure judges',' Tripura Law Secretary Swapan Chandra Das told IANS.

Das said these judges are selected from lawyers who have completed three years' law practice and are qualified to sit in the judicial service examination. They would be provided six months' training and get a fixed salary of Rs.11,500 and a stipend of a few hundred rupees.

The Guwahati High Court has the jurisdiction over seven northeastern states and it has permanent benches in many of these states.

Meanwhile, the lawyers of Tripura will observe a day's strike Monday to demand a separate high court for the state, said Apangshu Mohan Lodh, president of the Tripura High Court Bar Association.