Appointment of Additional and Acting Judges
Official heading: “Appointment of additional and acting Judges.”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part VI, Article 224, printed pages 102–103
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 224 empowers the President to appoint duly qualified persons as Additional Judges for up to two years to clear arrears of work, and Acting Judges during temporary judicial absences, up to age sixty-two.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 224 provides the constitutional mechanism for handling temporary surges in court workload and sessional judicial absences in High Courts.
Additional Judges (Clause 1): If by reason of any temporary increase in business or arrears of work in a High Court, it appears to the President that the number of judges should be increased, the President may appoint duly qualified persons to be Additional Judges for a period not exceeding two years.
Acting Judges (Clause 2): When any permanent Judge (other than the Chief Justice) is temporarily absent or unable to act, the President may appoint a qualified person to act as a Judge until the permanent Judge resumes duty.
Age Limit (Clause 3): No person can be appointed or hold office as an Additional or Acting Judge after attaining the age of sixty-two years.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A prominent trial advocate is elevated to the High Court bench as an Additional Judge for a two-year tenure.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 224 provides judicial flexibility to address case backlogs in High Courts.
- Additional Judges appointed for maximum term of two years.
- Acting Judges appointed to cover temporary vacancies of permanent judges.
- Appointees must meet full qualifications under Article 217(2).
- Strict age ceiling of sixty-two years under Clause (3).
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 VI, Article 224, printed pages 102–103 • 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.