The Supreme Court on Monday passed a set of guidelines regarding the appointment of ad hoc judges in the High Courts under Article 224A of the Constitution.
A bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and Suryakant passed the case in Lok Prahari v. Union of India. Lok Prahari, an NGO, had approached the apex court through a PIL filed under Article 32 to deal with the problem of arrears of a growing case in the High Court.
CJI SA Bobde said the bench had passed the 64-para verdict, mainly accepting the discussions that took place during the hearing. The CJI did not read the guidelines and said that the decision would be issued soon during the day.
The CJI said that the court has held that ad hoc appointments should not be made a substitute for regular appointments. He also said that the Court has held that salaries and allowances for ad hoc judges should be taken on the Consolidated Fund of India.
