No impediment in raising retirement age of MP district court judges to 61 yrs: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said there was no legal impediment in raising the retirement age to 61 years of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih took note of submissions of the Madhya Pradesh Judges Association and asked the high court to take a decision, preferably in two months, on the issue on its administrative side.
The judges association moved the top court in 2018 for raising the retirement age of district judges from the current 60 to 62 years.
It later informed the bench that the Association is now seeking enhancement only up to 61 years, aligning with a precedent set in another state.
The Association had first made a representation to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2018.
The high court, however, rejected the request, citing the 2002 Supreme Court judgment in the All India Judges Association case, which it interpreted as disallowing such enhancement.
On Monday, CJI Gavai, however, referred to its more recent order in an application filed by the Telangana government in the same All India Judges Association case.
In that case, the Telangana High Court had sought clarification regarding increasing the retirement age of district judges to 61 years.
The court had permitted it, finding no legal impediment.
Relying on that precedent, the CJI said, “In that view of the order, we do not find that there should be any impediment in permitting the State of Madhya Pradesh to increase the age of superannuation of judicial officers working in the State to 61 years.”
The bench said any such increase would be subject to the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s decision on its administrative side.
“In case the High Court takes a decision to increase the age to 61, the same will be permitted,” it said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link was opened to vehicular traffic on Saturday noon after a delay caused by the dismantling of inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work, a day after the Pune section became operational.
The 13.3 km-long "missing link", which bypasses a section of the Bhor Ghat stretch of the expressway and cuts travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25 to 30 minutes, was inaugurated a day earlier by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.
The Pune-bound carriageway of the corridor was opened to traffic immediately; however, the Mumbai-bound section remained closed to traffic for several hours after the inauguration.
An official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation told PTI on Saturday that the opening of the Mumbai-bound carriageway was delayed mainly due to the dismantling of the inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work.
The removal of the stage and other decorations was completed in the morning. The work to load and transport the material slightly delayed the opening of the carriageway.
Vehicular movement on the carriageway began after all the remaining material was cleared and road cleaning was completed, the official added.
The expressway control room said that despite significant vehicular movement, the access-controlled highway has not witnessed any major traffic snarls since Friday evening, after the Pune-bound carriageway of the missing link was opened to traffic.
The Missing Link project connects Khopoli (in Raigad) on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala in Pune district and is expected to make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the ghat section.
Developed by the MSRDC and dubbed an "engineering marvel", the project includes two tunnels, two viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley. It bypasses the steep, accident-prone ghat section, where frequent traffic snarls are reported during weekends and on public holidays.
