Post Retirement Appointment of Judges

Why in news?

Within a month of retiring from the Supreme Court of India, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer’s appointment as Governor of Andhra Pradesh has stirred debates on post retirement appointments.

What is the issue?

• Justice Nazeer (retd), was part of the five-judge bench that delivered the November 2019 Ayodhya verdict.
• The former Supreme Court judge also headed the five-judge Constitution bench that upheld the Centre’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes in 2016.
• Opposition leaders questioned the appointment of a former Supreme Court judge as a Governor as the move signals that pre-retirement judgments are influenced by the desire of a post-retirement job.
• Appointment of Justice P. Sathasivam as Governor of Kerala and Justice Ranjan P. Gogoi as a member of the Rajya Sabha has already stirred the debate.

What is the problem with such appointments?

• Corrupt the judges
• Encourage a culture of sycophancy to get advantage
• Affect the independence of the judiciary
• Makes the public have less faith in the judiciary
• Against the separation of powers
• Undermine the constitutional values of impartiality in the dispensation of justice

Article 50 - The State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State

What is the need of the hour?

• Clear demarcation - The Indian judiciary must distinguish between political favours and other post-retirement employment opportunities.
• There needs to be a demarcation between roles where the presence of a judicial authority is clearly valuable.
• Role of judicial community - The judicial community should take a concerted decision of not taking up any appointments upon retirement stemming from political patronage.
• Cooling period - A cooling period of about 2 years should be considered a mandatory minimum before a judge agrees to take on any post-retirement adjudicatory role.

Law Commission had consistently maintained that judges accepting employment under the government after retirement was undesirable as it could affect the independence of the judiciary.

References

1. The Hindu | Post-retirement appointments
2. The Hindu | Justice Nazeer among new Governors appointed by President
3. The Hindu | Justice Abdul Nazeer, who was on Ayodhya Bench, retires