The High Court Bar Association has expressed objection to the appointment of retired judges.
Law correspondent, Jagran, Prayagraj. The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has objected to the Supreme Court Collegium proposing names of retired justices for appointment as ad-hoc judges in the Allahabad High Court. Association President, senior advocate Rakesh Pandey Babua and General Secretary Akhilesh Sharma have sent a letter to the President in this regard. Its copy has also been sent to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Union Law Minister.
The Collegium has recently recommended five retired justices, namely Justice Mohammad Faiz Alam Khan, Justice Mohammad Aslam, Justice Syed Aftab Hussain Rizvi, Justice Renu Aggarwal and Justice Jyotsna Sharma, respectively, for appointment as ad-hoc justices in the Allahabad High Court for a period of two years. This has worried the lawyers. Top officials of HCBA have given voice to it.
What did the President and General Secretary write in the sent letter?
In a letter sent on February 5, the President and General Secretary have termed the Collegium's statement as 'vague' and said that this has caused concern in the legal community. According to HCBA, the Collegium's reference to Article 224-A of the Constitution is a violation of the provision which states that the appointment of an ad-hoc judge is within the jurisdiction of the Chief Justice of the High Court with the prior consent of the President. It is said that the five names appear to have been selected without any prior consultation, whereas the best among the pool of retired judges available should have been selected.
According to the HCBA, it would have been more appropriate to make regular appointments to fill vacancies rather than appointing retired justices. Appointing five justices from the pool of retired judges amounts to depriving qualified persons from the legal fraternity of appointment to a sensitive constitutional post and amounts to ignoring the 2021 Supreme Court judgment in ‘Lok Prahari vs Union of India’.
drew attention to the fact
The association has also drawn attention to the fact that in recent times a large number of judges from the bar and judicial services have been appointed to the Allahabad High Court, taking the strength to 111. (As on February 12, 2026, this number was 109 including the Chief Justice. There are 80 justices in the Prayagraj based bench and 28 justices in the Lucknow bench while the number of pending cases is more than 11.50 lakh.
Mention of earlier decisions also
The HCBA also cited prior decisions of the proposed ad hoc justices. Data extracted from the internet shows that Justice Mohammad Aslam gave 46 judgments during his tenure from 25.03.2021 to 14.01.2023 while Justice Renu Aggarwal gave 73 judgments from 15.08.2022 to 21.06.2024. Justice Jyotsna Sharma delivered 93 judgments from 15.08.2022 to 25.01.2025. Justice Syed Aftab Hussain Rizvi has given 151 judgments during his tenure from 25.03.2021 to 13.04.2025 and Justice Mohammad Faiz Alam Khan has given 395 judgments during his tenure from 22.11.2018 to 25.01.2025.
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