A former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Deepak Gupta on Saturday expressed his views about how judicial independence is compromised by post-retirement benefits.
Justice Gupta stated, “There should not be any post-retirement benefits.We cannot have an independent judiciary with such benefits. If judges on the verge of retirement throng corridors of power to look for after-retirement crumbs then what justice can be expected”.
He made the remarked while speaking on the issue of building a transparent and accountable collegiums at the Seminar on Judicial Appointments and Reforms, organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR).
In addition to suggesting ways to improve the collegium system, Justice Gupta emphasised the importance of independent judges who have the courage to stand up for themselves and the Indian Constitution.
He raised two concerns that he felt needed to be addressed in order to improve the collegium’s functioning.
First, all Constitutional Court judges should retire at the same age.
“One reason is the unholy hold that some of the judges of the Supreme Court exercises on the senior judges of the High Court will come to an end…Another aspect is that you have judges who are administratively more capable, they can be kept in the High Courts and those who are intellectually inclined can come to the Supreme Court…”, Justice Gupta stated.
Second, post-retirement benefits will be phased out over time. He emphasises the importance of appointing qualified judges at the High Court level, as the majority of Supreme Court justices are appointed from the High Courts.
“Names should always be taken up in a chronological manner. Why should there be discrimination between different High Courts at the Supreme Court level? Because what the Govt. is doing, the collegium is also doing.”
Justice Gupta also indicated how religion of the candidate determines the time period for consideration of their names by the Government.
“I have come to know, but not verified though, that it normally takes 100 days for a recommendation to be approved by the Govt. If it is a Christian it takes 266 days, if it is a Muslim it takes more than 350 days.”
Brief Info about Justice Deepak Gupta?
Justice Gupta was born on 7 May,1955 into a family of lawyers hailing from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. He started practicing in the Himachal Pradesh High court in 1978 after completing his LL.B. from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
On February 17, 2017, Justice Gupta was appointed to the Supreme Court as a judge. He seved as an advocate as well as a Judge in Himachal High Court from 2003-2013. On March 23, 2013, he was also named the first Chief Justice of the newly established Tripura High Court, making him the first Himachal Pradesh judge to be immediately appointed as the Chief Justice of another state. Before being promoted to the Supreme Court, he lastly spent one year as the Chief Judge of Chattisgarh.
Justice Gupta retired as a Supreme Court judge on 6 May 2020.
