Advocate Adish Aggarwala writes to PM Modi to curb ‘brooding threat' to judiciary’s independence

New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI) Senior advocate Adish C Aggarwala has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting several amendments in the law, including a compulsory two-year "cooling-off" period for judges to join politics.
     Aggarwala, who is also the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), has written the letter in his personal capacity, saying that he had raised the requests to "curb the brooding threat to the independence of the judiciary".
     His requests also included "introducing suitable amendments in statutes to provide for the appointment of sitting judges instead of retired judges in tribunals and commissions", and "raising the retirement age of judges by three years".
     The letter claimed out of 21 judges who retired from the Supreme Court from 2008 to 2011, 18 judges got assignments in different commissions and tribunals.
     "While the present Government has not instituted this system and is following the mechanisms envisaged by statutes passed during the earlier regime, there is a crying need to amend the statutes to change the eligibility requirement from a retired judge to sitting judges or practising lawyers," it said.
     The 14th Law Commission of India report has recommended changes in the existing practice of offering post-retirement jobs for judges and it has been reasoned that such appointments affect judicial independence and erode the dignity and status of the judiciary, the letter claimed.
     Aggarwala's letter said, "I humbly submit that the services of judges should be profitably used in courts for longer tenures by raising the retirement age of Supreme Court Judges from 65 years to 68 years and that of high court Judges from 62 years to 65 years. The retirement age of judges in the district courts may be raised from 60 years to 63 years."
     This would help in tackling the pendency of cases and also "reduce the judiciary’s expenditure burden on the taxpayers by at least twenty per cent," he said.
     The letter said when a judge resigned or retired and immediately joined active politics, it was likely to undermine public confidence in the judiciary's ability to dispense justice fairly.
     "Unfortunately, former judges venturing into the political arena has been seen on multiple occasions in India," it said.
     "The time is ripe for your government to consider introducing a law to debar former judges from engaging in political activities for at least two years immediately after demitting office as a cooling off period," the letter added.
     It said that there were certain "disgruntled elements" who raised a loud chorus when cases involving corruption by political figures were taken up.
     "It is the duty of every advocate to respect courts and to refrain from making statements that may scandalise the courts. Passing such comments is not only contemptuous but also against professional ethics," the letter said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)