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At
present the judges of the Apex court retire at the age of 65, whereas the judges
of High Courts and the members of the ITAT retire at the age of 62. Most of the
judges of the Apex Court even after retirement render service to the nation by
chairing various forums, like Authority for Advance Rulings till the age of 68.
Similarly the judges of the High Courts also serve as chairman, president or
members of various quasi-judicial forums, like, Administrative Tribunals,
Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, SEBI Tribunal, etc., where
the age limit is 65. When the judges can render service as chairman of various
forums and render the Judicial service which they were rendering earlier on the
bench there is no reason why the age limit should not be raised. If the
Government can retain the services of judges for another three years, it will be
a great service to the nation and the pendency of cases before High Courts will
reduce.
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In
India many professionals join the judiciary with the intention of serving the
nation and not with the intention of getting a permanent job in the Government.
A fresh law graduate when he joins a multinational gets much more than a sitting
judge of High Court, who may have put in more than 20 years of practice in law.
Experience of a judge and his knowledge is an asset to the justice delivery
system; hence it is in the interest of the nation to raise the age limit of
judges.
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At
the inaugural function of the ITAT Tribunal Member’s Conference at Mumbai in the
year 2006 the Hon’ble Law Minister H. R. Bharadwaj stated that he is in favour
of raising the retirement age of members of the ITAT. But, till date there is no
more in this direction. Federation is of the considered opinion that this is one
of the important judicial reforms which is need of the hour. It is important to
retain the knowledge and experience of the judiciary to deliver speedy justice.
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The
sanctioned strength of the judges of the Apex Court is 26, that of High Courts
749 and members of the ITAT is 126. Hence, it cannot be viewed as a vast
opportunity in the employment sector yet retention of less than 1000 persons
will have multiplier effect on justice delivery system. In Australia Judges of
Federal Court and Supreme Court retire at the age of 70. Similarly in Japan
judges of High Court retire at the age of 65 and Supreme Court at the age of
70.
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We
are of considered opinion that when the age limit of members is increased the
retired members may not be permitted to practice before the same forum or forum
lower to the Tribunal. When a retired member appears before the authorities
lower to the Tribunal, the institution of the Tribunal loses the respect of the
people. The High Court judges after retirement never appear before High Court or
lower courts, this has enhanced the respect of the judiciary. It is
essential that the service rules may be amended or by convention the retired
members may not be permitted to appear at the place of retirement or any forum
lower to the Tribunal.
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It
is time to initiate debate on the proposal of the increase of the age limit of
the Supreme Court judges from 65 to 68, High Court judges and members of the
ITAT from 62 to 65. The Federation has sent a representation earlier to increase
the age limit of judges of Apex Court, High Courts and Members of ITAT.
A
thought for debate and consideration.
Dr. K. Shivaram
Editor-in-Chief
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