The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea requesting a two-year “cooling-off period” for retired judges of the apex court and high courts before they can accept political appointments. Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said the decision of whether a retired judge should accept a certain office or not should be left up to the discretion of the judge.
The bench also said that it could not make a judgement on whether an ex-judge can be elected to the Lok Sabha or nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The counsel representing the petitioner association argued that the lack of such a provision was creating a misconception in the public mind. The bench asked what qualifies as a political appointment, to which the counsel responded that it is up to the judge to decline or accept such offers.
The bench further asked if the court could say no one should take up a job at a tribunal after retirement. The counsel said that the petitioner was referring to appointments that rely on the discretion of the executive, which should have a two-year cooling-off period. The bench observed that a lot of things are left to the discretion of the judge and that the petitioner was only referring to one case without naming anyone. The bench then asked if the petitioner was trying to prevent a particular person from becoming Governor.
