7-8 years tenure for Supreme Court judges

7-8 years tenure for Supreme Court judges

• Recently, Supreme Court Judge Justice L Nageswara Rao remarked that those elevated as judges to the top court must get a “minimum 7-8 years” in office “if not 10 years” so as to get the best out of them.

Appointment and Tenure of Judges of the Supreme Court

• Article 124 of the Constitution of India, caps the age of retirement for Supreme Court judges at age 65.
• So, each Chief Justice’s tenure begins from the date of his/her elevation to the date of his/her retirement.
• As a result, the tenure of each CJI is predicated upon their age at the time of their appointment to the Supreme Court, their rank in seniority and their date of elevation as the Chief Justice.
• In the US, Supreme Court judges leave office only by death, or when they themselves, alone and individually, resign.
• In order to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be a citizen of India and must have been, for at least five years, a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession, or an Advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession for at least 10 years or he must be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist.

Article 124 in The Constitution Of India 1949

• Establishment and constitution of Supreme Court

(1) There shall be a Supreme Court of India constituting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges

(2) Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty five years: