‘It’s Enough’: SC Judge Says Apex Court Judges Should Retire at 65 Only

NEW DELHI:
Supreme Court’s Justice S. Ravindra Bhat on Friday said the retirement age of apex court and high court judges should not exceed the age limit of 65 years.

“I do not think I and Justice (Vipin) Sanghi (of the Delhi High Court) share that view that the age of retirement should be extended. It’s enough! Maybe for high court judges, it should be increased to 65, but certainly not beyond that. We too would like to rest and I think it’s time, apart from other humorous parts, the workload which we all share. I think we should recognise that younger people have a role…”

At present, the age of the retirement age of Supreme Court judge is 65 and for a high court judge, it is 62.

Justice Bhat emphasised that younger people should get the opportunity to serve at the bench.

“With youth, comes fresh ideas. They bring to the table freshness of enquiry and fullness of information about contemporary events… which we, old folk, would not only be insulated, but also resistant to.”

Justice Bhat’s remarks came at the launch of book “Finding a Straight Line between Twists and Turns” by Aseem Chawla on the evolution of the Indian tax landscape.

Speaking on the topic ‘Social Justice and Fiscal Policy’, he emphasised that the link between taxation and justice is a classic debate while also being relevant at a time of changing environmental factors and conditions of social and economic systems.

“America got created because of this theory of taxation. The sterling cry of revolutionaries, Patrick Henry was ‘no taxation without representation’. The demand for political representation stemmed out of taxation”.

He also pointed out that one of the main causes of the French Revolution was extremely oppressive and arbitrary taxation.

Citing high pollution level, at the outset, justice Bhat said: “I will shock you by saying that the only good thing about this morning is this event… the weather outside is not good at all.”

The event was also attended by Justice Sanghi of Delhi High Court and Society of Indian Law Firms President, Dr. Lalit Bhasin.