Judges and civil servants: A post-retirement job remains a grey area

For government posts, there is no cooling-off period. Yet, the Union government under different political regimes has either waived or altered the rules to suit the occasion

A striking similarity in statements made by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, just before he recently retired as chief justice of India, and his successor, Justice B R Gavai, is their emphasis on abjuring post-retirement assignments. It is unclear whether these suo motu positions were oblique criticisms of past chief justices, such as Justice Khanna’s predecessor Justice D Y Chandrachud’s defence of judges accepting post-retirement jobs in tribunals and similar institutions. Either way, both judges must be applauded for seeking to uphold a principle against a practice that may often raise ethical questions. 

There are two elements to the issue: Accepting government