In a significant development for the subordinate judiciary, the Supreme Court on Thursday passed an interim order raising the retirement age of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh from 60 to 61 years.
A bench comprising CJI B.R. Gavai, Justice Prasanna B. Varale, and Justice K. Vinod Chandran granted the relief while referring to a similar precedent set by the Telangana High Court. The apex court questioned the rationale behind denying this benefit to judicial officers when the state government appeared willing to extend it.
Parity with State Employees
The bench drew a sharp parallel between judicial officers and other state government employees, noting the disparity in their superannuation ages. The Court observed that while other state government employees in Madhya Pradesh retire at the age of 62, judicial officers were being made to retire at 60.
“It is needless to say that judicial officers as well as other employees of the state government draw salaries from the same public exchequer,” the bench remarked.
Furthermore, the Court pointed out that maintaining a retirement age of 61 for District Judges creates a reasonable one-year distinction from High Court judges, who retire at the age of 62.
Opposition and Previous Observations
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing on behalf of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, opposed the submissions seeking the enhancement of the retirement age.
The issue has been under the scrutiny of the apex court for several months. On October 27, the Supreme Court had issued notices seeking responses from both the Madhya Pradesh government and the High Court registry regarding the plea challenging the refusal to increase the retirement age.
Prior to that, on May 26, a bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai had observed that there appeared to be no legal impediment in raising the retirement age of judicial officers in the state to 61 years.
While the current direction serves as an interim order, the bench has posted the plea for a final hearing after four weeks. Until then, the retirement age for judicial officers in the state stands enhanced to 61.
