Summary:
Jaipur: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that retired judicial officers can be appointed as judges of the high court.The division bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan gave the order on a petition by lawyer Sunil Samdaria. The petition challenged the appointment of two district judges, who had retired from judicial service in 2016, in the high court.The petitioner said that both appointments made for a period of less than two years violate Article 224 of the Constitution.Upholding the appointment of justices Virendra Kumar Mathur and Ram Chandra Singh Jhala, the bench ruled that retired judicial officers can be appointed as judges to the high court under Article 217(2)(a).The eligibility of a person to be appointed as a judge of the High Court as provided under Article 217(2)(a) is that he should be a member of the judicial service of the state, the order said.The court noted that in view of pending cases and the increase in business of the high court, constitutional provisions have been put in place.The court expressed concern over the delay in the appointment of judges and pendency of cases..