MP Judicial Officers’ retirement age raised to 61:Supreme Court asks why officers are denied benefits despite state govt being ready to implement changes

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a significant interim order increasing the retirement age of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh from 60 to 61 years. This decision comes during hearings on petitions seeking an increase in retirement age for judicial services. Supreme Court questions delay in extending benefits A bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Prasanna B. Varale, and Justice K. Vinod Chandran asked why judicial officers were being denied this benefit when the state government is ready to implement it. Currently, other state government employees retire at 62, while judicial officers in district courts retire at 60. High Court judges retire at 62, making it logical to extend district judges’ retirement age to 61. The bench emphasized that both judicial officers and other state employees receive salaries from the same public exchequer, making any discrimination unreasonable. Telangana High Court cited as example The Supreme Court referenced a similar decision in Telangana, stating that if other states can implement it, Madhya Pradesh should follow suit. MP High Court opposes the proposal During the hearing, Senior Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, representing the Madhya Pradesh High Court, opposed increasing the retirement age. However, the court granted interim relief and did not accept the opposition at this stage. The matter has been scheduled for final hearing in four weeks. Earlier Supreme Court observations On October 27, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the state government and the High Court registrar regarding this issue. Earlier, on May 26, a bench led by Chief Justice Gavai had observed that there is no legal barrier to increasing the retirement age to 61. Equitable treatment for judicial officers The bench highlighted that both judicial officers and other state employees draw salaries from the same government treasury. While other state employees retire at 62, High Court judges retire at 62, and district judges will now retire at 61. This adjustment aligns the retirement age logically across judicial and non-judicial government services. The Supreme Court has listed the petition for final hearing four weeks from now.