It is just five months to go for the retirement of Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, as he is going to turn 65 years on August 27 this year. He will be relinquishing his office on August 26.
Yet, Justice Ramana doesn’t want to retire from active life so early. In a conversation with US Supreme Court judge Stephen Brever through a webinar on Monday, the Chief Justice of India said 65 years is too early to retire.
The conversation was on comparative constitutional laws and when the issue of the age of retirement between the two judicial systems would be.
Justice Breyer, who is 83 years old, said he was planning to voluntarily retire from the Supreme Court at the conclusion of its current term following 27 years on the bench.
He said in the US Supreme Court judges leave office only by death, or when they themselves, alone and individually, resign.
Justice Ramana said was going to retire in August following an eight-and-half year stint as as per the Indian Constitution, 65 is the retirement age for judges of the apex court. That is why he said it was not the correct age for retirement.
“I think 65 years is too early an age for someone to retire. I worked almost 22 years as a judge in the high court, in the Supreme Court, and as the chief justice of the Supreme Court... In the Indian judiciary, we know our date of retirement at the time of joining. There are no exceptions,” Justice Ramana said.
He went on to add that he was still left with a decent amount of energy.
“I am the son of an agriculturalist. I am still left with some land to cultivate. I am basically a man of people. I love to be among people. It has been my nature since my student days. I hope I will find the right avenue to invest my energy for the sake of people,” he said.
There are reports that Justice Ramana might be considered by the Narendra Modi government for the post of President of India soon after his retirement. Incidentally, the present President of India Ramnath Kovind is also retiring this August.
