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Indian HC, SC judges should retire at 65 & 70, says former SG

The retirement age for high court judges should be increased from 62 to 65 to match the current retirement age of Supreme Court judges, argues former solicitor general of India TR Andhyarujina. For Supreme Court judges it should, in turn, be raised to 70 to match the international standard, he adds.

“With no logic, the Constitution-makers had a poor notion of the fitness of High Court judges after 60, but a higher notion of the competence of Supreme Court judges after 60, for whom they prescribed retirement at 65,” he says.

He asserts that early retirement age is a disincentive to lawyers to take up the judicial post, takes away the opportunity from judges to acquire “maturity, learning and experience”, and increases their anxiety to look for alternate employment after retirement, also high court judges then tend to “unbecomingly” covet Supreme Court judgeships.

Australia, Ireland, Israel and South Africa retire their SC judges at 70 while the US prescribes no retirement age. A US judge Blackmum served until the age of 85 while chief justice Rehnquist served till death at 80. [The Hindu]

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