'Raise Retirement Age Of High Court/ Supreme Court Judges': DMK MP Wilson In Parliament

Senior Advocate and DMK's Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson has espoused the cause of raising the retirement age of High Court and Supreme Court judges.

In his zero hour speech, the DMK MP voiced the opinion that the retirement age of High Court judges must be raised from 62 to 65 years, whereas the retirement age of Supreme Court judges must be raised from 65 to 70 years.

According to Wilson, it has become essential to increase the retirement age of judges for strengthening the judiciary, suffering from the long pendency of cases and the large number of vacancies. Mr. Wilson also commented that all parties and members of the house broadly agree with the proposition for raising the age bar.

P. Wilson also made an observation in the speech that the numerous Standing Committee reports recommending the increase in retirement age of judges have not been considered by the Government. The huge amount of money spent on the Committees and the members'  investment of their valuable time for the preparation of reports are rendered futile by the government, he added.

The MP has also urged the Chairman and the Members of the House to consider making the Committee Reports accepted by the House binding on the Government as a potential solution. Currently, according to Rule 277 of the Rules of procedure and conduct of Business in the Council of States, the reports of standing committees have only persuasive value.

Touching upon the hesitation of bureaucrats about the bill, P. Wilson clarified that judges who hold constitutional office and bureaucrats are not similarly placed. Further, he raised a question before the house as to why the experienced judges are not allowed to continue in the High Courts/ Supreme Courts for expeditious disposal of cases when the situation is such that they have been taking up a greater workload post-retirement as Chairman and members of various Tribunals.

In his speech, the former Additional Solicitor General of India also pointed out that the retirement age has not been increased since 1963. To bolster his stand, Mr. Wilson also drew the attention of members to similar views expressed by Attorney General for India KK Venugopal. Noting that advancements in health and medicine have allowed people to function well even in the seventies or eighties, P. Wilson praised the Attorney General for effectively carrying out his functions even when he is 90 years old.

Mr. Wilson concluded his speech by requesting the Law Minister and other Members of the House to consider the increase in retirement age of judges as a non-partisan issue important for strengthening the judicial institutions.