Parliament Question: Collegium Recommendation on Judicial Appointments

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2144 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 31st JULY, 2026 COLLEGIUM RECOMMENDATION ON JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

2144. SHRI RADHAKRISHNA:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

(a) the number of High Court judge appointments recommended by the Collegium during each of the last five years, court-wise;

(b) the average time taken between Collegium recommendation and Central Government

notification of appointment, court-wise;

(c) the number of recommendations pending beyond six months as on date, court-wise; an

(d) the reasons for delay in such pending cases, where communicated? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) to (d): The Judges of the High Courts are appointed under Article 217 and 224 of the Constitution of India and according to the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgment of October 6, 1993 (Second Judges case) read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998 (Third Judges case).

As per the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while the responsibility for initiation of proposals for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, in consultation with two senior-most puisne Judges of the High Court. As per the MoP, the High Courts are required to make recommendations at least 06 months before the occurrence of a vacancy. However, this time limit is rarely observed. For appointments to the High Courts, the views of concerned State 1Government are obtained in accordance with the MoP. The recommendations also have to be considered in the light of such other reports as may be available to the Government in respect of the names under consideration. The recommendations of the High Court Collegium, the State Governments and the Government of India are then forwarded to the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for advice. Appointment of Judges in the higher judiciary is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the executive and the judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities both at State and Central level. Only those persons whose names have been recommended by the SCC are appointed as Judges of the High Courts. 608 Judges have been appointed to the High Courts in last the five years.

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