Supreme Court Asks States to Consider Raising Judicial Officers' Retirement Age to 61
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed all states and union territories to consider raising the retirement age of judicial officers from 60 to 61 years, in consultation with their respective high courts.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued the direction while hearing a petition seeking a uniform retirement age of 62 years for district judiciary judges across the country.
"All state governments and union territories are directed to take a decision, in consultation with their respective jurisdictional high courts, on this issue. In case they agree, judicial officers in such states shall be permitted to continue in service up to the age of 61 years. Such continuation shall remain subject to the final outcome of these proceedings," the bench ordered.
The interim arrangement will come into effect from April 1, 2026. The bench clarified that this would not prejudice the final adjudication on whether the retirement age should be uniformly enhanced to 62 years.
"We clarify that the question of law formulated at the outset shall be decided by this court independently, irrespective of the stand that may be taken by the states or the high courts," the bench said.
All states and union territories have been asked to place their stand on record within two weeks after consulting their high courts. High courts must also file their responses within the same period. However, states and high courts already in agreement need only submit a brief statement indicating concurrence.
The issue stems from a 2002 Supreme Court judgment that declined to accept the Justice K. Jagannatha Shetty Commission's recommendation to raise the retirement age of district judges to 62 years. Since then, some states like Telangana and Madhya Pradesh have moved towards increasing the retirement age.
On Wednesday, the court was informed that the Madhya Pradesh High Court's full court had passed a resolution recommending enhancement from 60 to 62 years. However, some high courts, including Punjab and Haryana, continue to oppose the proposal, citing that the retirement age of government employees in their states is 60 years or below.
Observing the need for an early resolution due to differing positions, the bench put in place the interim mechanism allowing an increase to 61 years wherever there is consensus between the state government and the high court.
In November 2025, a bench led by former Chief Justice B.R. Gavai had raised the retirement age of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh from 60 to 61 years, citing a similar decision by the Telangana High Court. The bench had questioned why judicial officers should be denied relief when the state government was willing, noting that both judicial officers and other state employees draw salaries from the same public exchequer, and the retirement age for other state employees is 62 years.
