New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notice in petitions filed seeking increase in age of superannuation of members of the subordinate judiciary in Madhya Pradesh to 62 years.
A three-judge bench of the Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramaniun issued directions while hearing the plea. The appeal, filed by the Madhya Pradesh Judges’ Association, asked for directions to the Madhya Pradesh state government and the Madhya Pradesh High Court to increase the age of superannuation of members of the subordinate judiciary. The plea has also sought modifications in previous orders of the apex court where it held that superannuation of subordinate judicial officers cannot be raised to 62 years.
The petition has shown the increase the age of superannuation for the state government employees as an example. The plea asks for an amendment to Rule 16 of the Madhya Pradesh Higher Judicial Service Rules, 2017 and Rule 14 of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994.
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According to petitioners, failure to increase the superannuation age would amount to discrimination and if state government employees get the benefit of superannuation at age of 62, but judges have to retire at 60, it would clearly violate Article 14 of the Constitution. If the superannuation age for judges is not increased like state government employees, it would lead to “hostile discrimination vis-à-vis state government employees who are governed by the same service rules.”
-India Legal Bureau