Appointment and Conditions of Office of High Court Judges (Article 217)

At a Glance

• What it is How high court judges are appointed, paid, transferred and removed
• Article Article 217 and Articles 218 to 224A
• Retirement At 62 years
• Removal As for Supreme Court judges
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Higher Judiciary

Where Does It Fit?

This is the ninth topic of the category on the Higher Judiciary. High court judges are appointed and removed in a way similar to Supreme Court judges, with some differences in qualifications and retirement age.

Appointment

The judges of a high court are appointed by the President. The Chief Justice is appointed after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the state. For other judges, the Chief Justice of the high court is also consulted. For a common high court, the Governors of all the states concerned are consulted. In the Second Judges case (1993) the Supreme Court ruled that no appointment of a high court judge can be made unless it is in conformity with the opinion of the Chief Justice of India. In the Third Judges case (1998) it opined that for high court appointments the Chief Justice of India should consult a collegium of two seniormost judges of the Supreme Court. The 99th Amendment and NJAC Act of 2014 replaced the collegium, but the Fourth Judges case (2015) restored it.

Qualifications, Oath and Pay

A person must be a citizen of India and must have held a judicial office in India for ten years, or been an advocate of a high court (or high courts in succession) for ten years. No minimum age is prescribed, and unlike for the Supreme Court, there is no provision for appointing a distinguished jurist. The judge takes an oath before the Governor or a person appointed by the Governor, in terms similar to those of a Supreme Court judge. Salaries and allowances are determined by Parliament and cannot be varied to the judge’s disadvantage except during a financial emergency. In 2018 the salary of the Chief Justice was raised from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2.50 lakh per month and of a judge from Rs 80,000 to Rs 2.25 lakh. Retired judges get 50% of the last drawn salary as pension.

Tenure, Removal and Transfer

A judge holds office until 62 years (raised from 60 by the 15th Amendment Act, 1963); any question about age is decided by the President after consulting the Chief Justice of India. The judge can resign by writing to the President, and vacates office on appointment to the Supreme Court or on transfer to another high court. A judge can be removed in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge: by an order of the President after an address of both Houses by special majority for proved misbehaviour or incapacity, under the Judges Enquiry Act, 1968. No high court judge has been impeached so far.

The President can transfer a judge from one high court to another after consulting the Chief Justice of India, and the judge gets a compensatory allowance. In 1977 the Supreme Court ruled that transfer should be an exceptional measure in public interest and not by way of punishment, and in 1994 held that judicial review is necessary to check arbitrariness, though only the transferred judge can challenge it. In the Third Judges case (1998) the Court said that for transfers the Chief Justice of India should consult, in addition to the collegium of four seniormost judges, the chief justices of the two high courts concerned.

Acting, Additional and Retired Judges

Judges of the high court have independence guaranteed by appointment in consultation with the judiciary, security of tenure, fixed service conditions, salaries charged on the Consolidated Fund of the state (the pension is charged on the Consolidated Fund of India), no discussion of conduct in legislatures, a bar on practice after retirement (except in the Supreme Court and other high courts), contempt powers, freedom to appoint staff and protected jurisdiction.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Comparison with the SC Age 62 vs 65, no jurist category
• Transfer rules Judicial review of transfer
• Collegium link Leads to 17.12

What Came Next?

The next topic covers the jurisdiction of High Courts.

Key People and Terms

• Compensatory allowance Paid on transfer
• Additional judge Temporary judge, up to two years
• Acting judge Temporary replacement
• Judicial office Post in the judicial service
• 15th Amendment Raised age to 62

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions on this topic usually ask about independence and transfers. Use these points to add depth.

• Consultation CJI, Governor and chief justice
• Collegium Two senior-most for HC appointments
• Transfer safeguards Public interest and review
• Independence Nine safeguards