Nearly a year after the Supreme Court permitted the appointment of ad-hoc judges to address a backlog of over 18 lakh criminal cases, no such appointments have been made. High courts have not forwarded recommendations to the Union Law Ministry, despite Article 224A of the Constitution allowing retired judges to be appointed. The Supreme Court had relaxed certain conditions for these appointments in a later ruling, but the process remains stalled due to a lack of proposals from high court collegiums.