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THE CONSTITUTION, MADE UNDERSTANDABLE

Article 217
Appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court

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Source edition: as on 1 May 2026. Omitted and struck-down reference entries remain labelled. Open the authoritative PDF ↗

Article 217 / Part VI

Appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court

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Plain languageOfficial textPurpose & sources
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THE PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE

What does this mean?

This governs High Court judges' appointment, qualifications, tenure and specified consultation requirements. Appointment law must also be read with the relevant judicial decisions and source-edition status notes.

State Governors, ministers, legislatures, High Courts and the subordinate judiciary.

PURPOSE & CONTEXT

Why is this provision here?

The High Court system needs defined judicial offices, jurisdiction and administrative safeguards to carry out the specific role described above.

Historical evidence

This Article number belongs to the original constitutional framework, but its present wording may include later amendments or substitutions. A provision-specific original Assembly debate has not been verified here. The explanation of function above is editorial inference from the text, not an attributed single motive of the framers. The original draft-making archive is a research resource, not proof of a particular historical reason. The later amendment records linked below document changes affecting this Article; their Bill statements explain those proposals, not necessarily every original clause or the complete present legal outcome.

The explanation of purpose is an editorial reading of the provision. A drafting motive is attributed only where a linked historical source supports it.

Limits, exceptions & reading carefully

Educational summary of the linked source text. Exceptions, provisos, implementing laws and applicable judgments must be read before applying it to a real case.

Amendment references
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Read the official constitutional text
217. Appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court.—(1) Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal [on the recommendation of the National Judicial Appointments Commission referred to in article 124A], and the Governor of the State, and, in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court, [shall hold office, in the case of an additional or acting Judge, as provided in article 224, and in any other case, until he attains the age of [sixty-two years:]] Provided that— (a) a Judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office; (b) a Judge may be removed from his office by the President in the manner provided in clause (4) of article 124 for the removal of a Judge of the Supreme Court; (c) the office of a Judge shall be vacated by his being appointed by the President to be a Judge of the Supreme Court or by his being transferred by the President to any other High Court within the territory of India. (2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of a High Court unless he is a citizen of India and— (a) has for at least ten years held a judicial office in the territory of India; or (b) has for at least ten years been an advocate of a High Court *** or of two or more such Courts in succession. (c)* * * * * Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause— [(a) in computing the period during which a person has held judicial office in the territory of India, there shall be included any period, after he has held any judicial office, during which the person has been an advocate of a High Court or has held the office of a member of a tribunal or any post, under the Union or a State, requiring special knowledge of law;] [(aa)] in computing the period during which a person has been an advocate of a High Court, there shall be included any period during which the person [has held judicial office or the office of a member of a tribunal or any post, under the Union or a State, requiring special knowledge of law] after he became an advocate; (b) in computing the period during which a person has held judicial office in the territory of India or been an advocate of a High Court, there shall be included any period before the commencement of this Constitution during which he has held judicial office in any area which was comprised before the fifteenth day of August, 1947, within India as defined by the Government of India Act, 1935, or has been an advocate of any High Court in any such area, as the case may be. [(3) If any question arises as to the age of a Judge of a High Court, the question shall be decided by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the decision of the President shall be final.]
Source-page notes · may concern neighbouring Articles

1. The bracket and figure "(1)" omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 2. Cls. (2) and (3) omitted by s. 29 and Sch., ibid. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 3. Proviso omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 11 (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 4. Subs. by the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014, s. 6, for "after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State, and, in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court" (w.e.f. 13-4-2015). This amendment has been struck down by the Supreme Court in the case of Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association and Another Vs. Union of India in its judgment dated 16-10-2015, AIR 2016 SC 117. 5. Subs. by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 12, for "shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty years" (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 6. Subs. by the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 1963, s. 4(a), for "sixty years" (w.e.f. 5-10-1963).

1. The words "in any State specified in the First Schedule" omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 2. The word "or" and sub-clause (c) were ins. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 36 (w.e.f. 3-1-1977) and omitted by the Constitution (Forty- fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 28 (w.e.f. 20-6-1979). 3. Ins. by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 28 (w.e.f. 20-6-1979). 4. Cl. (a) re-lettered as cl. (aa) by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 28 (w.e.f. 20-6-1979). 5. Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 36, for "has held judicial office" (w.e.f. 3-1-1977).

1. Ins. by the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 1963, s. 4(b), (with retrospective effect). 2. The words "in a State" omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 3. Subs. by s. 13, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956). 4. 1st November, 1956. 5. Subs. by the Constitution (Fifty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1986, s. 3, for clause (1)

Extracted from the Legislative Department’s May 2026 edition. Page footnotes may refer to neighbouring provisions; check their markers in the PDF. Inclusion in this edition does not by itself establish commencement or judicial effect.