Article 217 is a constitutional provision found in Part VI of the Indian Constitution, which deals with the States. It governs the appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court. The article was adopted on June 7, 1949, by the Constituent Assembly to establish a judiciary free from external influence and ensure the independence and integrity of the High Courts.
Article 217(1) states that every High Court Judge is appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal. This appointment requires consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Governor of the concerned state. For the appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of that High Court must also be consulted. Judges hold office until they attain the age of sixty-two years. This retirement age was raised from 60 to 62 by the 15th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1963.
The article connects directly to the mechanism of judicial appointments, which has been shaped by landmark judgments. The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association vs. Union of India (1993), known as the Second Judges Case, established the collegium system, emphasizing the primacy of the judiciary in the appointment process. Article 217(2) prescribes the qualifications, requiring a person to be a citizen of India and to have held a judicial office for at least ten years or been an advocate of a High Court for at least ten years. A Judge may resign by addressing a letter to the President or be removed by the President in the manner provided in Article 124(4), which is the impeachment procedure for a Supreme Court Judge. The 99th Amendment Act of 2014 attempted to replace the collegium system with the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), but the Supreme Court struck it down in 2015, reinstating the collegium system.