Increase in Retirement Age of Supreme Court, High Court Judges: No Such Plan at Present, Modi Government Says in RTI Reply
Responding to an RTI query, the Modi government said it has no plan in place to increase the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts at present.
New Delhi, August 18: Responding to an RTI query, the Modi government said it has no plan in place to increase the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts at present. Through an RTI application, the Ministry of Law and Justice was asked if a Bill is being readied to hike the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges and whether any meeting took place to discuss the issue.
The ministry responded: "At present, there is no draft bill being readied/prepared to hike the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court Judges." "A Bill titled The Constitution One Hundred and Fourteenth Amendment Bill was moved by the Government in the 15th Lok Sabha. The Bill provided for increasing the retirement age of high court judges from 62 to 65 years. However, the Bill could not be passed and lapsed due to dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha," the reply mentioned. In a First, CJI Ranjan Gogoi Allows CBI to Probe High Court Judge Justice SN Shukla in Corruption Case.
The Congress-led UPA government had moved a Bill to increase the retirement age of high court judges from 62 to 65 years. However, the Bill lapsed in 2014 with the dissolution of Lok Sabha. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi has written three letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent period to raise the strength of Supreme Court judges and to increase the retirement age of their High Court counterparts.
At present, Supreme Court judges retire at the age of 65 whereas high court judges demit offices at 62. Seeking hike in retirement age, Chief Justice Gogoi had argued that the availability of more experienced judges for a longer tenure will improve the vacancy position and reduce the pendency of cases.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 18, 2019 11:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).