Supreme Court Allows High Courts to Appoint Retired Judges to Reduce Case Backlog

The Supreme Court has allowed High Courts to appoint retired judges on an ad-hoc basis under Article 224A of the Constitution to tackle case pendency.

Previously, in April 2021 in the case of Lok Prahari v UOI, the SC laid down guidelines and allowed ad-hoc judge appointments but set strict conditions, including a 20% vacancy threshold.

Recently, the Court relaxed these conditions, citing the rising case backlog. 

High Courts can now appoint up to 10% of their sanctioned strength as ad-hoc judges, who will sit with regular judges in Division Benches.

The 2021 judgment also clarified that ad hoc appointments cannot be a substitute for regular appointments.