Ad hoc judge
Also called: Article 127 · Topic: Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
An ad hoc judge is a High Court judge who sits in the Supreme Court for a short time under Art. 127. The Chief Justice of India makes the request with the President's consent. This happens only when there are not enough permanent Supreme Court judges to form a quorum (the minimum number needed to hold a sitting or hear a case). The judge must be qualified to be a Supreme Court judge. The provision keeps the Supreme Court working when too few judges are available.
Example
If several Supreme Court judges are unavailable and a bench cannot be formed, the CJI, with the President's consent, can ask a qualified High Court judge to sit in the Supreme Court for the time needed.
Don't confuse with
- Retired judges sitting in the Supreme Court (Art. 128): these are retired judges asked to sit again. An ad hoc judge is a serving High Court judge.
- Acting CJI (Art. 126): an acting CJI is a Supreme Court judge appointed to do the CJI's work while that office is vacant or the CJI is unavailable.
Related concepts
- Integrated judiciary
- Supreme Court of India
- Yato Dharmastato Jayah
- Qualifications of Supreme Court judges
- Chief Justice of India
- High Court
- Common High Court
- Retired judges sitting in High Courts