Gauhati High Court upholds minimum age requirement for District Judges in Assam [Read Judgment]

The Gauhati High Court on Monday upheld the minimum age requirement for appointment of District Judges in the State [Pooja Agarwal vs State of Assam and anr]..A Bench of Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Soumitra Saikia held that Rule 7 of the Assam Judicial Service Rules of 2003 providing for appointees to grade-1 judicial officers in the State to be at least 35 years of age, is not arbitrary, discriminatory or violative of Article 14. "In Devina Sharma, inter alia, the validity of a similar provision in Delhi Judicial Service Rules, 1970 were under challenge before the Supreme Court in which the Apex Court had upheld the validity of the Rules (Delhi Rules), which prescribed a minimum age of 35 years for direct recruitment to Delhi Higher Judicial Service. It is an admitted position that the present Rules under challenge are exactly the same as were under challenge before the Apex Court," the Court held..The High Court found that the age criteria has a rational and reasonable nexus with the intent of the Rules, towards ensuring that the candidates have both maturity and experience to become District Judges.It took note of Supreme Court judgments in Madras Bar Association and Devina Sharma to observe that though the Constitution does not specify an age requirement for district judges, it does not disentitle State to prescribe such criterion.Moreover, in Devina Sharma the top court explained the rationale for such criteria by stating it ensures that the candidates have the experience as well maturity, the Bench noted. The Bench emphasised that under Article 141, Supreme Court decisions are binding on all other Courts.On whether the order would be appealed to the Supreme Court, the counsel for the petitioner told Bar and Bench that they have not taken a call yet on the same..Counsel for the respondents submitted that the question before the Court is no longer res integra as a decision on the said subject has been given by the Supreme Court in Devina Sharma.The Bench in the instant case noted at the outset that Article 233(1), which prescribes appointment of District Judges, has to be read with Article 235 that mandates that the control over lower courts vest with the High Court. "Merely because the Constitution is silent on the minimum age would not mean that those entrusted with the Rule making power cannot make such provision," the Court made it clear.Relying on Hirandra Kumar vs High Court of Judicature at Allahabad & Anr, the High Court dismissed the challenge under Article 14 after reiterating that the criteria involved are a policy decision and in line with the Shetty Commission recommendations. .The petitioner, advocate Pooja Agarwal, appearing in person, had stated during hearings that the said minimum age criteria is illegal as neither the Constitution nor the rules in other States provide for the same.Rule 7 of the Assam Judicial Service Rules provides that for direct recruitment, among other qualifications, the candidate must be at least 35 years of age, but under 45.This stipulation, the petitioner had argued, was "contrary to Article 233 of the Constitution of India which clearly provides that no person shall be eligible to be appointed as a District Judge if he has been for not less than 7 years an advocate or pleader."Article 233 clarifies that no age criteria has been provided and the only eligibility criteria given is that the candidate needs to have seven years of practice as an advocate, it was stated.Arguing that there is "no rationale" behind this Rule, the petitioner had stated that the minimum age requirement is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution "as it leads to discrimination on the basis of age as the law has been laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court in a catena of cases."Moreover, the said requirement even "precludes otherwise qualified candidates possessing the requisite experience from appointment to the Grade I post," the plea had said.The petitioner had highlighted how, in the ordinary career of a law graduate, they would have completed the seven years of practice needed for district judges by age 31. By age 35, they would be eligible for appointment as High Court judges, having completed the minimum 10-year experience needed.The Assam Rules effectively mean that candidates in Delhi and Karnataka have longer tenures with the judiciary, it was pointed out..Senior Advocate Unni Krishnan Nair appeared for the respondent-State, and the High Court as its senior standing counsel. .[Read Judgment]