Appointment of HC Chief Justice

Appointment of HC Chief Justice

Subject – Polity

Context – Supreme Court Collegium recommends new Chief Justices for 13 HCs

Concept –

• As per article 217, the chief Justice of the high court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief justice of India as well as the Governor of the state in question.
  • In the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court is consulted.
• A collegium system has evolved over the years in which a Collegium headed by the CJI makes recommendation to the government for appointment of judges.
• The Collegium recommends the names to the law ministry which after scrutinizing send the paper to the president.
• The president either approves the names or returns the names for reconsideration of the Supreme Court. If still the Supreme Court sends the same names president appoints the persons recommended.

Qualification to Become a High Court Judge

A person to be appointed as a judge of a high court, should be a citizen of India. Further,

• He should have held a judicial office in the territory of India for ten years or
• Should have been an advocate of high court(s) for ten years.

There is no minimum age fixed for high Court judges, and unlike in Supreme Court, there is no provision for appointment of a distinguished jurist as a judge of a high court.