NEWS – In a significant move to address the burgeoning backlog of criminal cases, the Supreme Court on January 30th permitted High Courts to appoint retired judges on an ad-hoc basis. This decision relaxes a previous ruling that restricted such appointments to High Courts with judicial vacancies exceeding 20% of their sanctioned strength.

HIGHLIGHTS

Background:

• India’s judiciary, particularly at the High Court level, grapples with a massive caseload.
• The 2021 Lok Prahari judgment, while acknowledging the need for measures to expedite justice delivery, had established stringent criteria for appointing ad-hoc judges.
• Article 224-A of the Constitution empowers the President to appoint retired judges to High Courts on an ad-hoc basis with the consent of the concerned judge.

Key Aspects of the Recent Order:

• Relaxation of 20% Vacancy Criterion: The Supreme Court has now allowed High Courts to appoint ad-hoc judges even if judicial vacancies are below 20% of the sanctioned strength.
• Focus on Criminal Appeals: Ad-hoc judges will be exclusively assigned to hear criminal appeals, working alongside sitting judges on benches.
• Limited Number of Appointments: The number of ad-hoc judges in each High Court is capped at 10% of the sanctioned judicial strength.
• Addressing Backlog: This move aims to expedite the disposal of criminal cases, which constitute a significant portion of the overall pendency in High Courts.

Previous Instances:

• 1972 – Justice Suraj Bhan (Madhya Pradesh HC).
• 1982 – Justice P. Venugopal (Madras HC).
• 2007 – Justice O.P. Srivastava (Allahabad HC, Ayodhya case