India, Jan. 5 -- No ad-hoc judges have been appointed in High Courts so far to tackle pending criminal cases, nearly a year after the Supreme Court cleared the decks for it, as the High Courts have not evinced interest. According to people aware of the procedure to appoint Supreme Court and High Court judges, none of the 25 High Courts have recommended names for appointment as ad-hoc judges.

Concerned over the pendency of over 18 lakh criminal cases, the Supreme Court had on January 30, 2025, allowed the High Courts to appoint ad-hoc judges, not exceeding 10 per cent of the court's total sanctioned strength.

However, the Union law ministry is yet to get any recommendation from any of the High Court collegiums to appoint retired judges o...