CJI Ranjan Gogoi Writes 3 Letters to PM Narendra Modi, Wants Retirement Age of High Court Judges Raised to 65 & Increase in SC Strength

New Delhi, June 22: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi has written three letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent period with two major demands. The CJI has sought passage of constitutional amendments to raise the strength of Supreme Court judges and to increase the retirement age of their High Court counterparts.

At present, the SC has 31 judges -- the full-strength has been achieved this year for the first time in a decade. According to CJI Gogoi, the number of apex court judges must be raised at the earliest in order to clear the massive backlog of cases. At present, a total of 58,669 cases are pending before the apex court.

The second demand by the CJI - to raise the retirement ages of HC judges - had been voiced earlier as well from judicial experts. At present, the judges retire at 62. According to the Chief Justice, the retirement age should be raised to 65.

The demand also stems from a view to clear the unprecedented backlog of pending cases before the High Courts. In the 24 HCs of the nation, around 43 lakh cases are pending for clearance.

"One of the prime reasons why we are not able to contain the ever-growing pendency is shortage of HC judges. At present, 399 posts, or 37% of sanctioned judge-strength, are vacant. The existing vacancies need to be filled immediately," the CJI was quoted as saying in the letter by TOI.

The Chief Justice also pitched another suggestion before the Prime Minister - to revive the system of tenure appointments for retired HC and SC judges under Articles 128 and 224A of the Constitution. The appointments are intended to clear specific cases which are stuck in logjam for years.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2019 09:12 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).