SC approves appointment of ad hoc judges to clear backlog

The Supreme Court on Tuesday approved ad hoc appointment of retired judges, up to a maximum of five, in each of the 25 High Courts to clear the massive backlog of cases.

The top court said that Chief Justices of the High Courts could initiate the process for the appointment of ad hoc judges only after they have already made recommendations of permanent judge for more than 20 per cent of the regular vacancies.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde allowed the High Courts to seek recourse to the extraordinary provision under Article 224A of the Constitution after noting that the backlog of cases have crossed the figure of 57 lakh while the consistent ratio of vacancies across the High Courts stood at almost 40 per cent.

"We have taken the first step with the hope and aspiration that all concerned would cooperate and retiring/retired judges would come

forth and offer their services in the larger interest of the Judiciary," the bench said.

The court stressed that if problems arose, it will endeavour to iron them out. "We must set aside apprehensions, if any, to chart this course and we are confident that there will be a way forward," the bench said.

The court said that the ad hoc judges should be appointed for a period between two to three years where the vacancies were more than 20 per cent and the substantial pendency pertained to old cases.

The appointment of ad hoc judges, said the apex court, should be processed by the central government within three months and they should be given the salary and perks on par with the permanent judges of the High Courts.

The ad hoc judges should be usually assigned cases pending for more than five years and they will not be permitted to perform any other legal work, including arbitration. The court has asked the Union Law Ministry’s department of justice to submit a report regarding the process.