Ad-Hoc Judges in the High Court

About Ad-Hoc Judges in the High Court

Ad-hoc judges in Indian High Courts are retired High Court judges appointed temporarily under Article 224A of the Constitution to help clear heavy case backlogs and reduce judicial delays.

All about Article 224A

Constitutional provision: Article 224A (introduced by Fifteenth Amendment act, 1963) of the Indian Constitution allows the Chief Justice of a High Court to request retired HC judges to perform the duties of a judge again, with the prior permission of the President of India.
Tenure: 2 to 3 years.
Allowances:
Allowances as determined by the President.
In Lok Prahari case (2021), the supreme court Court ruled that ad-hoc judges should receive the same pay and allowances as permanent High Court judges, excluding the pension.
These payments are to be drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India.
The Court stated that ad-hoc judges should either be provided with rent-free accommodation or given a housing allowance, similar to permanent judges.
Maximum strength: The number of ad-hoc judges cannot exceed 10% of a High Court’s sanctioned strength, meaning each High Court can have only 2 to 5 such appointments.
Role and Duties: These judges can only hear criminal appeals and must do so as part of a Bench led by a sitting judge.

Procedure for Appointment of Ad-hoc Judges in High Courts

Legal Framework: The detailed procedure for such appointments is outlined in the 1998 Memorandum of Procedure (MoP).
Appointment Process:
Initiation: The Chief Justice of the High Court recommends the name of a retired judge along with the proposed tenure.
State Government: The recommendation is forwarded to the Chief Minister, who sends it to the Governor.
Central Government: The Governor forwards the recommendation to the Union Minister of Law and Justice.
Consultation: The Union Law Minister seeks the advice of the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
Final Approval: The recommendation is forwarded to the Prime Minister, who advises the President for approval.
Appointment: Following the President’s approval, the appointment is formally notified.
Supreme Court’s Clarification: In the Lok Prahari, the S.C identified specific circumstances that could warrant the appointment of ad-hoc judges in certain High Courts.

Criteria	Conditions
Judicial Vacancies	More than 20% of the sanctioned strength of High Court judges is vacant.
Long-Pending Cases	More than 10% of the cases in the High Court have been pending for over five years. Additionally, cases belonging to a specific category have remained pending for more than five years.
Case Disposal Rate	The rate of case disposal is lower than the rate of institution of new cases, resulting in increasing pendency.

Previous Appointments:

In 1972, Justice Suraj Bhan was appointed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court after his retirement to adjudicate election petitions.
In 1982, Justice P. Venugopal was similarly appointed to the Madras High Court.
In 2007, Justice O.P. Srivastava was appointed to the Allahabad High Court to preside over the Ayodhya title suits.

Ad hoc Judge in SC (Article 127) Article 127: If there is a lack of quorum of permanent judges to hold or continue a session of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India can appoint a High Court judge as an ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court for a temporary period.He can do so only after consultation with the chief justice of the High Court concerned and with the previous consent of the president.

PYQ
With reference to the Indian judiciary, consider the following statements:
1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with the prior permission of the President of India.
2. A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither I nor 2