Appointment of High Court Judges and Chief Justice, Procedure and Articles

Context: The SC Collegium recommended a new Chief Justice for 5 High Courts: Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gauhati, Patna, and Jharkhand.

Appointment of High Court Judges

• Article 217: Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
  • This is done after consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the Governor of the State and the Chief Justice of the High Court.
• Qualifications: (Article-217)
  • Citizens of India
  • He/she should have held Judicial office for at least 10 years.
  • They should have for at least 10 years been an advocate of a High Court.

Appointment Process of High Court Chief Justice

• Recommendation by Collegium: The Supreme Court Collegium (headed by the CJI and comprising 4 senior-most SC judges) recommends names for the Chief Justice of a High Court.
  • Seniority, merit, and regional representation are key considerations.
• Central Government’s Role: The Union Ministry of Law forwards the Collegium’s recommendation to the Prime Minister.
  • The PM advises the President on formal appointments.
  • The government can seek clarification cannot reject the Collegium’s recommendation indefinitely.
• Oath & Tenure: The appointed CJ takes oath under Article 219.
  • Retires at 62 years(Article 217(1)).

Procedure of Appointment of HC Judges

• Initiation: The proposals of names for appointment as a judge in the High Court are initiated by the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court.
• High Court Collegium:
  • The Chief Justice of the High Court consults the two senior-most judges of the High Court before proposing such names.
• Scrutiny by Government:
  • Recommendations of the HC Collegium are sent to the Governor, Chief Minister and the CJI.
  • The Governor, based on the advice of the Chief Minister, sends the proposal to the Minister of Law and Justice at the Centre.
  • The Union Law Ministry conducts a background check and sends the recommendation to the CJI to consider it with the rest of the SC collegium.

Supreme Court Collegium

• Composition of collegium: It consists of the CJI and two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
• Decision of collegium: The Supreme Court collegium then considers such names recommended by the High Court collegium.
  • SC collegium has the power to reject the names recommended by the High Court collegium.
• Decision of the Union government:
  • After due deliberations on such names, the Union Cabinet advises the President to appoint such persons as judges in the High Court.

Key Points

• Collegium System: Evolved from the Three Judges Cases(1981, 1993, 1998), it is a judicial precedent, not mentioned in the Constitution.
• Difference from CJI Appointment: CJI is appointed solely by seniority, while HC CJs are appointed based on Collegium recommendations.
• Controversies: Lack of transparency, delays in appointments, and government-judiciary tussles.

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