Retirement Age Hike For District Judges: Which States Have Approved It And Which Haven’t?

The Supreme Court is pushing state governments to enhance the retirement age of district judges from 60 years to 61 or 62 years, as a measure to manage the high vacancies in the judicial system. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana heard the ongoing All India Judges Association case. While most of India’s high courts support the extension, several state governments and Union Territories (UTs) are yet to take a decision in the matter. Some have even opposed extending the retirement age. 

The Supreme Court verbally observed that judicial officers and general government employees cannot be equated because they enter at different ages in their respective jobs. While government employees can start at the age of 18 years and retire at 60, judicial officers are around 27-28 years old when they enter service. The age requirement is even higher, a minimum of 35 years, in case of direct recruitment for Additional District Judges. Considering the entry gap of at least 3-4 years, the apex court said that a two-year difference in retirement age is completely justified.

According to a report by Live Law, the Bench strongly rejected the arguments that extending the tenure of district judges would create a financial strain on state treasuries. The Supreme Court noted that keeping experienced judges in service defers the immediate payment of pensions and retirement benefits, and thus, this would save costs rather than adding a financial burden. CJI Surya Kant highlighted that, as per the historical facts, the retirement age of judicial officers has been higher than that of the government officers, and previous rulings have also established that the two services are not comparable.

Which States Have Approved Higher Retirement Age?

At present, nine states and UTs, including Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Sikkim, have accepted the proposal. 

Which States Have Rejected The Higher Retirement Age?

A total of 10 states and UTs, including Kerala, Odisha, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, have opposed the retirement age hike.

The remaining states, including Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Assam, Gujarat, and Goa, are still considering whether to accept the change or not. 

In the case of Bihar, the Full Court of the Patna High Court has approved the hike. The Registrar General communicated the decision to the state government on August 31 regarding approval to hike the retirement age from 60 to 62 years; however, the state is yet to approve it. Reportedly, Bihar’s Additional Chief Secretary (ASG) has informed that the state is evaluating the issue cautiously because a hike in the retirement age of current officials would mean delaying the job openings for younger candidates, which could trigger youth protests and law and order challenges.

The retirement age extension is a measure the apex court has asked the states to consider to tackle the pendency of the cases in the courts, while also managing the financial burden. There is a severe staff shortage, with 1,744 vacant district judge posts nationwide. 

The matter has been adjourned for two weeks for further hearing.