AG for raising SC judges'' retirement age from 65 to 68

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 7

Amid concerns over a huge number of vacancies in the Supreme Court, Attorney General KK Venugopal has requested the government to consider increasing the age of retirement of top court judges from 65 years to 68 years.

At present, there are only 22 judges against sanctioned strength of 31 judges in the Supreme Court which had a pendency of 54,013 cases as on May 4, 2018.

With three more judges, including Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, set to retire by December, the vacancy situation in the top court is likely to get worse, particularly due to collegium's inability to clear names for elevation in the last three meetings.

Speaking at a Supreme Court Bar Association function to bid farewell to Justice AK Goel on Friday, the Attorney General urged the government to increase judges retirement age, saying "it will be in the interest of the justice delivery system".

Venugopal also favoured raising the age of retirement of high court judges from 62 years to 65 years.

"It is my sincere hope that the Government of India will look into this issue and raise it to say, 65 for the judge of High Court and 68 for judges of Supreme Court. That will be in the interest of the justice delivery system," the top law officer of the Centre said.

The Attorney General's suggestion is in tune with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice, which had in its 96th report favored increasing judges retirement age.

The retirement age of Supreme Court Judges should be increased to 67 years and that of High Court Judges should be increased to 65 years, the report - tabled in Parliament earlier this year - had recommended, saying this would help in retaining the existing judges and thereby reducing judicial vacancies as well as the pendency of cases.

Venugopal said Justice Goel could not accomplish many of his innovative ideas and plans and in the past four-five months he was going at a "great speed" and delivered several landmark verdicts.

"A judge takes time to evolve and by the time he or she is in a position to put innovative thoughts to practice, comes the retirement age. This could have been avoided if the age of retirement was not 62 for high court judge and 65 for Supreme Court judges. That is because a judge has to evolve over the years. He has to have vast experience as an advocate. When he becomes a judge, he has to sit on different benches doing different subjects so that is an expert in each one," the Attorney General said.

"Finally, the judge is elevated to the Supreme Court. In SC it is only when he presides that he is able to hold a sway in regard to the innovative thoughts that he has. By then, it would be time to say goodbye," Venugopal lamented.