Collegium Invokes Article 224A to Appoint Ad Hoc Judges in Allahabad High Court
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of five retired judges as ad hoc judges of the Allahabad High Court by invoking Article 224A of the Constitution.
This decision was taken in a meeting held on February 3 and comes at a time when High Courts are struggling with a heavy backlog of cases and a shortage of sitting judges. Under Article 224A, a High Court Chief Justice can appoint retired judges as ad hoc judges with the prior consent of the President of India.
The five retired judges recommended for appointment are:
- Justice Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan
- Justice Mohd. Aslam
- Justice Syed Aftab Husain Rizvi
- Justice Renu Agarwal
- Justice Jyotsna Sharma
Justice Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan is currently serving as a judicial member of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal since May 2025.
These appointments will be for a period of two years. This is reportedly the fourth time Article 224A has been used. The provision was revived in 2021 after remaining largely unused for decades, when the Supreme Court laid down guidelines to address serious delays in High Courts.
In January 2025, the Supreme Court further relaxed the rules to allow easier appointment of ad hoc judges, especially to deal with criminal case pendency. Later, in December 2025, the Court gave more freedom to High Court Chief Justices to decide how benches with ad hoc judges should be formed.
At present, the Allahabad High Court has only 110 judges working against a sanctioned strength of 160, making it the largest High Court in the country with one of the highest case loads.
