On Thursday, the Indian government told the Rajya Sabha that it does not plan to increase the retirement age for judges in the Supreme Court and high courts. The Law Minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, explained that Supreme Court judges retire at 65 years, high court judges at 62, and district judges at 60.
There was a past attempt by the UPA 2 government to change the retirement age of high court judges to match that of Supreme Court judges, but that bill was never discussed and eventually lapsed.
During a Question Hour, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chaddha raised concerns about retired judges taking on political roles, like becoming members of the Rajya Sabha or governors. He said this could lead to conflicts of interest and uncertainty about the independence of the judiciary. Chaddha proposed that there should be a cooling-off period of at least two years before any retired judge takes on a political or executive role, and he suggested that judges should receive better pensions to avoid financial dependency on post-retirement jobs.
In response, Law Minister Meghwal stated that Chaddha’s remarks were politically charged. He mentioned that judges are appointed based on a set process outlined in the Constitution and past Supreme Court rulings. Meghwal also noted that while a resolution was passed in a conference for increasing judges’ retirement age, there is currently no government proposal on this matter. He pointed out that the Prime Minister has not created any new tribunals for retired judges.
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