New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has asked the Centre to revisit the retirement age and service conditions of the Indian Coast Guard, observing that the existing framework appears rooted in outdated, colonial-era norms and may require a comprehensive policy review aligned with present-day operational realities.

Hearing the Centre’s appeal against a Delhi High Court order that mandated a uniform retirement age of 60 years for Coast Guard officers, a bench led by Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed the high court ruling and sought a broader examination of service conditions across ranks.

The high court had struck down provisions that allowed differential retirement ages—57 years for officers up to the rank of commandant and 60 years for senior ranks - holding the classification arbitrary and violative of equality principles. Challenging the order, the Union government argued that the maritime operational structure of the force and its career progression model require a distinct service framework.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave submitted that factors such as physical demands of sea duty, promotion pyramids and functional requirements cannot be addressed through a blanket uniform retirement age.

The Supreme Court observed that any change in retirement norms for a uniformed force must follow expert evaluation rather than judicial standardisation, and indicated that the government should consider setting up a specialist committee to review the entire service structure—from recruitment age to superannuation.

The bench noted that such an exercise should also examine parity concerns with other forces like the Central Reserve Police Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police while keeping operational efficiency intact.

The matter will be taken up after the Centre places its response, with the outcome expected to have wider implications for retirement policies across India’s uniformed services.

BI Bureau