It is a matter of great concern that 70,154 cases are pending in the Supreme Court with another whopping pile-up of 58,94,060 at the 25 High Courts across the country. Parliament should promptly contemplate increasing the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court Judges to 70 as this may help in tackling this enormous pendency of cases.
Currently, the High Court Judges retire at 62 and the Supreme Court at 65 with our judges retiring young while being still very fit to ably manage the temples of justice. Higher retirement age will also be an incentive to motivate bright legal brains to become judges. In progressive United Kingdom judges retire at 75.
To clear the backlog of cases the government must also promptly clear the names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium. The BJP has been seen to drag its feet while scouting to have its pliable faces in the judiciary which will compromise its very independence and sanctity.
Justice Rajendra Menon while retiring as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court had said that until and unless we are able to deliver timely justice to the citizens, the faith in the system may erode and if such a thing happens, it would be a disaster for the democratic system of this country.
