The Union government was currently processing 178 recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment as judges across different High Courts in the country.
The information was given by Law & Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Rajya Sabha, while replying to an unstarred question by MP Vivek T Tankha.
Meghwal said as on July 18, 2025, 371 judicial posts were vacant across High Courts, out of which, 178 recommendations were at the processing stage between the Government and the Supreme Court Collegium.
The recommendations against 193 vacancies were yet to be received from the High Court Collegiums, he added.
The Minister explained that the appointment of High Court judges was done as per Articles 217 and 224 of the Constitution and as per the procedure set out in 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 MoP, the initiation of judicial appointments in the Supreme Court was done by the Chief Justice of India (CJI), while for appointments in the High Courts, the initiation was done by the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, in consultation with two senior-most puisne judges of the High Court.
Meghwal said the time limit for High Courts to make recommendations was at least six months before the occurrence of a vacancy, which was rarely observed.
For appointments to the High Courts, the views of concerned state government were obtained in accordance with the MoP. The recommendations were also 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 were then forwarded to the Supreme Court Collegium for advice, he added.
The Minister termed the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary as a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the executive and the judiciary, which required consultation and approval from various Constitutional Authorities at State and Central level. Only those persons whose names were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium were appointed as judges of High Courts.
He said 35 judges were appointed to the Supreme Court and 554 to various High Courts across the country between January 1, 2020 to July 18, 2025. During the same to me, 349 names were remitted to the High Courts.