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News: The Supreme Court recently suggested the temporary appointment of retired High Court judges on an ad hoc (as-needed) basis to address the backlog of pending criminal cases in several High Courts.
About Ad-hoc Judges in High Court
Constitutional Provisions– The appointment of ad hoc judges is provided for in the Constitution under Article 224A (Appointment of Retired Judges at Sittings of High Courts).
Under this Article:
- The Chief Justice of a High Court for any State may request a person to act as a judge of the High Court.
- The prior consent of the President is required for such an appointment.
- The individual must have previously held the office of a judge in that High Court or any other High Court.
- Such a judge is entitled to allowances as determined by the President.
- They will also enjoy all the jurisdiction, powers, and privileges of a sitting judge of that High Court.
- This article does not require any such person to serve as a judge of the High Court unless they agree to do so.
Supreme Court guidelines for the Appointment of Ad hoc Judges
- If a High Court has more than 20% of its sanctioned positions vacant;
- If cases in a specific category have been pending for over five years;
- If more than 10% of the High Court’s total cases have been pending for over five years;
- If the rate of case disposal is consistently lower than the rate of case filing (referred to as the ‘case clearance rate’).
