New Delhi, Sep 1 - The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Delhi government for its laxity in filling up vacancies at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in the capital that had resulted in crime investigations being hindered and asked for an explanation.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan asked the government to file a detailed reply on why they had delayed in appointing staff at FSL.

'This is a serious issue and needs to be addressed seriously,' the bench said last week while questioning the government on why no action had been taken to dispose of the increasing crime cases in the capital.

Delhi Police counsel Mukta Gupta informed the court that the delay was due to the cases of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) that were languishing in court as they needed a report from the FSL before they were decided.

'In NCB cases, recoveries are huge so lack of staff at FSL hampers the investigation process,' Mukta informed the court.

'The number of cases in trial courts are voluminous and we don't know how to go about it.