In a recent address to the Rajya Sabha, the Centre affirmed that there is no constitutional stipulation for a cooling-off period for judges after their retirement, prior to their appointment in governmental or statutory roles. The statement was made by Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in response to a query from Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha.
Minister Meghwal clarified, “Our Constitution does not prescribe a cooling-off period for judges. Statutory bodies and tribunals require the expertise of seasoned individuals who meet specific qualifications.”
During the discussion, MP Raghav Chadha highlighted the need to prevent retired judges from immediately transitioning into executive or political positions. Proposing an enhancement of judges’ pensions, Chadha suggested such measures would discourage them from seeking post-retirement appointments influenced by potential political gains. He emphasized that appointments should be merit-based and politically unbiased to safeguard the judiciary’s independence.
Chadha also raised concerns over instances where judges have assumed roles within the political sphere, such as becoming Rajya Sabha members or Governors, post-retirement. “Such appointments may undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s independence,” he remarked.
Meghwal referred to Articles 124, 217, and 224 of the Constitution and Supreme Court judgments from 1993 and 1998 to illustrate the governance of judicial appointments, confirming that there are no current plans to either raise the retirement age for judges or implement a cooling-off period.
The law minister also shared alarming statistics regarding the backlog of cases across various levels of courts. As of November 28, the Supreme Court was dealing with 82,396 pending cases, High Courts had 61,11,165, and district courts were grappling with a staggering 4,55,98,240 cases, underscoring a significant challenge in the judiciary system.
