Prerna Gala
Published on: 15 September 2022 at 19:55 IST
In a recent news release, the Bar Council of India announced that it had decided to raise the age at which judges can retire after conducting a joint meeting with the State Bar Councils and office bearers of the High Court Bar Associations.
The Council stated in the Press Release, “After consideration, the meeting unanimously came to the conclusion that there should be immediate amendment to the Constitution and the retirement age of the Judges of the High Court should be increased from 62 to 65 years and the Age Superannuation of the Judges of the Supreme Court should be increased to 67 years,”
The meeting decided to ask the Parliament to alter some statutes to allow for the appointment of qualified attorneys as chairs of various commissions and forums, according to the Press Release.
The former Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana, responded to a question about comparative constitutional law online in April of this year by saying, “I think 65 years is too early an age for someone to retire.” KK Venugopal, the attorney general, has frequently expressed his support for it in public.
The Justice Venkatachaliah Report (Report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution) made the same recommendation in 2002, suggesting that the High Court and Supreme Court justices’ retirement ages be raised to 65 and 68, respectively.
India is one of the few nations where judges can retire at a younger age; in the United States, a Supreme Court justice is in office until his death; in Norway, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland, the retirement age is 70; in Germany, it is 68; and in Canada, it is 75.