Supreme Court Increases Retirement Age of Madhya Pradesh Judicial Officers to 61 Years

Major Relief for Judicial Officers

On 20 November, the Supreme Court of India increased the retirement age of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh from 60 to 61 years. The decision grants judicial officers an additional year of service, bringing relief to many and helping strengthen the judicial system by retaining experienced officers.

Bench Observations

The order was delivered by a bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Prasanna B. Varale, and Justice K. Vinod Chandran. The bench issued an interim order referencing a similar decision earlier given by the Telangana High Court.

The bench questioned why judicial officers should be denied relief when the state government itself was ready to increase the retirement age. It further pointed out that judicial officers and other state government employees receive their salaries from the same treasury.

While other government employees in Madhya Pradesh retire at 62, judicial officers were previously retiring at 60. The court stated that even normally, there is just a one-year difference between the retirement ages of High Court judges and district-level judges. High Court judges retire at 62, and now district court judges in Madhya Pradesh will retire at 61.

Legal Background and Arguments

The Supreme Court has listed the matter for final hearing four weeks from now. Representing the Madhya Pradesh High Court, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan opposed the plea seeking enhancement of the retirement age for district judges.

Earlier, on 27 October, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Madhya Pradesh government and the High Court registry regarding a petition challenging the refusal to increase the retirement age from 60 to 61 years.

On 26 May, a bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai had observed that there was no legal hindrance in increasing the retirement age of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh to 61 years.