Attendance of Retired Judges at Supreme Court Sittings
Official heading: “Attendance of retired Judges at sittings of the Supreme Court”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part V, Article 128, printed pages 60–61
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
- Not yet reviewed
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1. In One Sentence
Article 128 enables the Chief Justice of India, with presidential consent, to request a retired Supreme Court or High Court Judge to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 128 provides a practical mechanism to leverage the experience of retired judges to clear extraordinary backlogs or assist in complex matters.
The Chief Justice of India may at any time, with the previous consent of the President, request any person who has held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court, Federal Court, or a qualified High Court Judge to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
Under the Proviso, no retired judge is compelled to serve; the appointment requires the voluntary consent of the retired judge.
While so sitting and acting, the retired judge is entitled to allowances determined by the President and possesses all the jurisdiction, powers, and privileges of a Supreme Court Judge, but is not otherwise deemed to be a permanent Judge of that Court.
Note on NJAC Text: The 99th Amendment text is printed in official editions, but the strike-down in SCAORA (2015) revived the pre-amendment CJI-led request process.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A massive accumulation of pending specialized tax and corporate appeals requires experienced judicial hands for a targeted three-month disposal drive.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 128 allows the Supreme Court to enlist experienced retired jurists to manage exceptional caseloads.
- CJI initiates request with presidential consent.
- Mandatory consent of the retired judge.
- Full powers, privileges, and jurisdiction of a sitting Supreme Court judge while acting.
- Does not alter permanent court seniority or retirement status.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part V, Article 128, printed pages 60–61 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.