High Court, Supreme Court judges should have uniform retirement age of 68: Former CJI MN Venkatachaliah reiterates his 1993 suggestion

Former Chief Justice of India MN Venkatachaliah reiterated his 28-year-old suggestion that retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts should be made uniform and should be raised to 68. .The former CJI said that average life span of an Indian is currently 67 years up from 27 before independence and the retirement age of judges should also be raised. “All judges should retire at the same age, not at 62 or even 65, but at 68!” In this regard, he recalled that he had made a similar suggestion at a conference of Chief Justices of High Courts in 1993. “Why should judges retire at the age of 62 years? The average lifespan of a human in India was 27 years, it is 67 years now," he added. .Currently, High Court judges retire at the age of 62 while for Supreme Court judges, it is 65..Justice Venkatachailah was speaking at a panel discussion organized at the launch of the book "Anomalies in Law & Justice: Writings Related to Law & Justice" authored by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice RV Raveendran. .The book was released by Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana after which a panel discussion followed. The panel besides Justices Venkatachaliah and Raveendran also comprised former Chief Justice of India RC Lahoti and former Supreme Court judge, Justice BN Srikrishna.Senior Counsel Arvind Datar moderated the session. The issue of delay in disposal of cases along with the ancillary controversy of the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges came up for discussion first. .Datar highlighted a recent case regarding appointing additional judges under Article 224A as one of the possible methods to combat pendency. The other was to raise the retirement age of judges. Justice Lahoti agreed to the suggestion and said: “It is a must. This will solve two purposes - First, we will have an active, experienced judge at the prime of his maturity who will continue to dispense justice. If I can work as an arbitrator, record evidence, hear prolonged arguments and construct my awards even 15 years after my retirement, why can I not act as a judge?”He emphasized that the extended age should be uniform for judges at High Courts and Supreme Court."This will stop the rat race and the dignity of the judges of High Court will be restored which is eroding day by day,” he opined. .Justice BN Srikrishna concurred with Justice Lahoti adding that most Chief Justices across High Courts are influenced by what the Supreme Court will say on a particular issue. “This is total erosion of judicial independence. To try and please somebody in the Supreme Court is absurd, and that is what is really oppressive”. Increasing the retirement age and keeping it uniform for High Courts and the Supreme Court will do away with the current vices and make the judge feel that he is independent, Justice Srikrishna said. In this context, he also recalled a statement by a Calcutta High Court judge who had said that "High Court is as much a Constitutional Court as the Supreme Court and not a subordinate Court”..Justice Raveendran also shared similar views but added that raising retirement age should not be restricted to Supreme Court and High Court judges alone but should also be extended to subordinate judiciary. “The benefit of experience which is available by extending the age of retirement should not be restricted or limited only to High Court or Supreme Court judges but should be extended to the subordinate judiciary also. We have 35 Supreme Court judges, 1,080 High Court judges and 22,000 subordinate judges who also have tremendous experience having worked for 20-25 years. There is no good reason to send them away at the age of 58 when they are at their zenith," he said. While their retirement age need not be the same as High Court or Supreme Court judges, it can easily be extended to 62 years, he said. "It is important to consider a corresponding increase in the retirement age of subordinate judges while talking about an increase in age of retirement for the higher judiciary. This will also make joining the subordinate judiciary attractive," he added.