Home The Constitution Part VI Article 224

Art. 224 Part VI: The States

Appointment of Additional and Acting Judges

Exact text — Constitution of India

(1) If by reason of any temporary increase in the business of a High Court or by reason of arrears of work therein, it appears to the President that the number of the Judges of that Court should be for the time being increased, the President may appoint duly qualified persons to be additional Judges of the Court for such period not exceeding two years as he may specify. (2) When any Judge of a High Court other than the Chief Justice is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office or is appointed to act temporarily as Chief Justice, the President may appoint a duly qualified person to act as a Judge of that Court until the permanent Judge has resumed his duties.

In Plain English

What this Article actually means

This Article gives the President flexibility to temporarily bolster a High Court's judicial strength — either through 'additional Judges' (for genuine, temporary caseload surges, appointed for up to 2 years) or 'acting Judges' (covering for a specific judge's temporary unavailability) — without needing to permanently expand the Court's regular judge complement.

Why This Matters To You

How it shows up in everyday life

This is a practical tool for managing genuine, temporary workload fluctuations at individual High Courts — allowing flexible capacity expansion without permanently altering the Court's fixed judicial strength under Article 216.

Read alongside this one

Art. 216 — Constitution of High Courts

Frequently Asked

Quick answers about Article 224

Do additional judges have the same powers and independence protections as permanent judges?

While serving, yes, they exercise the full judicial powers of a High Court judge, though their specifically time-limited tenure (up to 2 years, potentially renewable) is a structurally different arrangement from a permanent judge's tenure security.

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The text above reproduces Article 224 of the Constitution of India as amended to date, for general educational reference. It is public-domain legislative text, but we recommend cross-checking the authoritative version at legislative.gov.in or india.gov.in before relying on it for a legal matter. The explanation, examples and FAQs are general information, not legal advice — consult a qualified advocate for guidance on your specific situation.