RAS question
The retirement age of a judge of the Rajasthan High Court is:
Correct answer: (C) 62 years.
A judge of the Rajasthan High Court holds office until the age of 62 years under Article 217(1) of the Constitution of India.
Explanation
Article 217(1) governs the tenure of High Court judges: a High Court judge holds office until the age of 62 years. The Department of Justice, Government of India places High Court judge appointments within the Article 217 framework, and Article 217 carries the retirement-age rule for High Court judges. The age is 62, not 60, because the Fifteenth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1963 raised the High Court retirement age from 60 to 62. It is also lower than the Supreme Court retirement age of 65 years, so High Court and Supreme Court service conditions must be kept distinct.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 65 years applies to Supreme Court judges, not judges of the Rajasthan High Court.
- (B) 70 years is not the retirement age for Indian High Court judges under Article 217 or for Supreme Court judges under Article 124.
- (D) 60 years was the earlier High Court retirement age; the Fifteenth Constitutional Amendment Act, 1963 raised it to 62 years. District Court judges are governed separately under the subordinate-judiciary framework.
Concept
The state judiciary portion of Indian Polity includes Article 217 and the service conditions of High Court judges. RAS preparation commonly compares the Rajasthan High Court with the Supreme Court and subordinate judiciary on constitutional status, appointment, and retirement age.