Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Adish Aggarwala on Monday said the Chief Justice of India should have a tenure of minimum six months to ensure sufficient time for proper administration of justice.
Speaking at a function organised for his felicitation, the SCBA president also sought change in the existing norms for appointing high court chief justices.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal was the chief guest at the function and former Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan was also present.
Aggarwala said, “I am of the view that no Chief Justice of India should be appointed if he is not having a tenure of minimum six months as CJI, for ensuring sufficient time for proper administration of justice and implementation of policies effecting the judicial system of the country.”
He also suggested that the appointment and elevation of judges should be solely on the basis of merit.
“If any judge is not found suitable for being promoted to the higher court, he should also not be allowed to continue as a judge, and instead, should be removed from his position,” he said.
Aggarwala also opined that retired judges should not be appointed in any tribunal or commission.
“Only sitting judges should be appointed to such posts after the sanctioned strength of judge posts is increased suitably. We also want the retirement age of Supreme Court judges to be increased from the existing 65 to 68.
“Similarly, the retirement age of High Court judges should go up from 62 to 65 years. In district judiciary, it should be increased from 60 to 62,” he said.