Govt has not introduced any bill extending retirement age of SC judges, law ministry clarifies

Two PTI lawmakers had introduced a bill to increase the retirement age before former CJP Khosa's tenure ended

The law ministry on Tuesday clarified that the federal government is not introducing any bill extending the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court (SC) from 65 to 68.

The ministry issued a statement clarifying that an old private member bill that is being considered by the standing committee on law and justice. The statement read that neither the federal government nor the ministry of law has introduced any such bill.

"Ministry of Law and Justice and the federal government has never introduced any such bill in the past and is not planning to present any such bill now," the statement read.

Before the retirement of former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa in September 2019, two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers Syed Fakhar Imam and Amjad Khan Niazi had moved bill for the increase in retirement age of SC judges.

While National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser deferred the bill, it's significant that the bill was presented by ruling party members and Parliamentary leader for Law and Justice Maleeka Bokhari did not oppose the introduction of the amendment to the Constitution for this purpose.

According to several lawyers, this was a calculated move to engage the former chief justice.

Late last year, PTI-led federal government’s decision to seek an increase in the retirement age of judges of the SC from 65 to 68 years gave birth to a debate in the legal fraternity as well as in the corridors of power.

According to Article 179 of the Constitution, "a judge of the Supreme Court shall hold office until he attains the age of 65 years".

The Constitutional Amendment Bill 2019 proposes substituting the expression "sixty-five" in Article 179 to "sixty-eight".