Justice Joseph

This could help reduce the pendency of cases, he said.

“I am in favour of increasing the age of retirement of judges of the high courts and the Supreme Court. The age of retirement for high court and Supreme Court judges must be the same and should be increased to 70 years so that the most productive years of a judge are utilised”.

Urging chief justices of the high courts to consult their senior colleagues on allocation of work and other issues, justice Jospeh said, “There is no doubt that the chief justice is the master of the roster, but as they (chief justices) are from outside the state, they should consult other senior judges of the high courts and bank on their experience and expertise in allocation of work and other issues. “

Justice Joseph was one of the four judges of the Supreme Court who earlier this year held an unprecedented press conference and criticised the allocation of judicial work by the chief justice of India Dipak Misra.

Calling for active consultations with the government on reducing the backlog of case in courts, he said: “Any discussion of reducing pendency of cases will be incomplete without involving the government; they hold the key in providing infrastructure and also judicial appointments.”

On the same occasion, justice Madan B Lokur of the Supreme Court emphasised the need to set up secretariats for high court collegiums that are responsible for