Govt receives 18 names for appointment in 4 HCs

The government received names of 18 former judges for appointment in four high courts following a decision to re-engage them to deal with huge pendency of cases.

The 18 names have been received from the high courts of Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Allahabad and Calcutta. The proposal is under process, highly placed sources said.

An extraordinary provision of the Constitution can now be invoked to appoint retired judges with proven integrity and track record as judges of high courts to tackle rising pendency, the government and the judiciary agreed.

According to the minutes of the meeting of the chief ministers, chief justices conference held in April, approved after a gap of nearly six months, it was resolved that “subject to integrity, suitability and performance of a person who has held the office as a judge of the high court, the provisions of Article 224 A can be invoked to deal with the extraordinary situation involving the large pendency of civil and criminal cases in the HCs.”

As per the provision, the chief justice of a high court, with the previous consent of the President (Centre), can request any person who has held the office of a judge of that court or any other high court to sit and act as a judge of the high court for that state.

With 24 high courts facing a shortage of nearly 450 judges, nearly 3 crore cases are pending in courts across India.