Oath, Salary and Post-Retirement Restrictions of High Court Judges

HC judges salary, the oath a judge must subscribe before assuming office, and the restrictions placed on a judge after retirement are dealt with in a small cluster of provisions in Part VI of the Constitution — Articles 219, 220 and 221. Together these provisions fix how a person formally becomes a High Court judge, what they are paid while in office, and what they may or may not do once they demit office.

The Oath of Office — Article 219

Article 219 requires that every person appointed a Judge of a High Court must, before entering upon office, make and subscribe an oath or affirmation before the Governor of the State (or a person appointed by the Governor for this purpose). The form of this oath is not left to convention — it is set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution. The Third Schedule is a common repository of oath and affirmation formats used across constitutional offices: it prescribes the forms for Union Ministers, candidates and members of Parliament, State Ministers, members of State Legislatures, and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. Taking this oath is a mandatory precondition — a judge cannot function in the office until the oath has been administered.

Salary and Allowances — Article 221

A High Court judge's salary and allowances are governed by Article 221, which places the actual determination of these entitlements within the constitutional scheme applicable to High Court judges. This link is visible even in a transitional provision of the Constitution: Article 376, dealing with judges who continued in office from the pre-Constitution High Courts, explicitly ties their salaries, allowances, leave and pension to what Article 221 provides for High Court judges generally. In other words, judicial compensation was treated as a matter requiring a dedicated constitutional provision rather than executive discretion, insulating a judge's pay from being used as a lever of pressure by the government of the day.

The question of how much a judge should be paid was itself debated in the Constituent Assembly. During discussion of judicial salaries, one member objected to proposals that would have set the salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at Rs 5,000 a month and other judges at Rs 4,000, arguing that if ministers could serve on Rs 3,000, no judicial officer — including a High Court judge — should claim a markedly higher figure merely by virtue of holding the highest judicial posts. The exchange reflects an underlying constitutional concern that ran through the framing of judicial salary provisions: compensation had to be adequate to secure judicial independence, without judges being seen as a privileged class insulated from the austerity expected of other public officers in a newly independent country.

Restriction on Practice After Retirement — Article 220

Article 220 addresses what a judge may do after leaving office. It provides that no person who has held office as a permanent Judge of a High Court, after the commencement of the Constitution, shall plead or act in any court or before any authority in India — except the Supreme Court and the other High Courts. In effect, a retired permanent High Court judge is barred from practising before their own High Court, before subordinate courts, or before other authorities in the country, but remains free to appear before the Supreme Court or before High Courts other than the one from which they retired.

The Article carries an Explanation clarifying that, for this purpose, "High Court" does not include a High Court of a former Part B State as it existed before the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 — a transitional clarification tied to the reorganisation of States and their High Courts after independence.

Why No Bar on Post-Retirement Offices

Unlike Article 220's restriction on legal practice, the Constitution does not impose a general bar on a retired High Court judge accepting other government offices or assignments after retirement. The reasoning for this distinction was explained by Dr B.R. Ambedkar during the framing of provisions on public services: members of Public Service Commissions were restricted from taking up further government employment after retirement because their functions — recruitment and related matters — brought them into close and continuing proximity with the government, creating a risk that decisions taken in office could be influenced by post-retirement prospects. Ambedkar argued that the judiciary's position was different: judges decide cases that are, in his words, remote from the interest of the government, and therefore a similar restriction on judges' post-retirement offices was not considered necessary. This reasoning explains why Article 220 is narrowly confined to legal practice rather than all forms of post-retirement employment.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 219 requires the oath to be made before the Governor of the State (not the Chief Justice of the High Court).
• The form of oath for High Court judges is contained in the Third Schedule.
• Article 220 permits a retired permanent High Court judge to practise before the Supreme Court and other High Courts, but not before their own High Court or subordinate courts/authorities.
• Article 221 governs the salaries and allowances of High Court judges.

Mains

• Discuss how the constitutional scheme for judges' oath, salary and post-retirement conduct is designed to protect judicial independence.
• Examine the rationale for restricting a retired High Court judge's legal practice while not restricting other post-retirement offices.

FAQ

Before whom does a High Court judge take the oath? Before the Governor of the State, or a person appointed by the Governor for that purpose, as required by Article 219.

Where is the form of oath for High Court judges found? In the Third Schedule to the Constitution, which also contains oath forms for other constitutional offices.

Can a retired High Court judge practise law after retirement? A retired permanent judge cannot plead or act before their own High Court, subordinate courts, or other authorities in India, but may appear before the Supreme Court and other High Courts, under Article 220.

Which Article governs the salary of High Court judges? Article 221.

Is there a bar on a retired High Court judge taking up a government post? Article 220 does not impose such a bar; it restricts only legal practice, not acceptance of other offices.

Quick Revision

• Article 219 — oath before the Governor; form in Third Schedule.
• Article 220 — no practice before own High Court/subordinate courts/authorities after retirement; SC and other HCs allowed.
• Article 221 — salary and allowances of High Court judges.
• Explanation to Article 220 excludes former Part B State High Courts (pre-Seventh Amendment, 1956) from its scope.
• No general post-retirement office bar on judges, unlike Public Service Commission members.

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Articles 219, 220, 221 and 376 — https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india
• Constituent Assembly Debates — https://www.constitutionofindia.net

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.