Which Constitutional Amendment Act of India increased the age of retirement of High Court judges from 60 years to 62 years?

Introduction / Context:
Changes in the service conditions of judges, including their age of retirement, are made through constitutional amendments. Such changes are important because they affect judicial independence, continuity, and the availability of experienced judges in higher courts. This question asks you to identify which specific Constitutional Amendment Act raised the retirement age of High Court judges in India from 60 to 62 years, a detail often tested in Indian polity examinations.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The focus is on the age of retirement of High Court judges.
• The original retirement age was 60 years.
• The amendment raised this age to 62 years.
• The options list several numbered Constitutional Amendment Acts, including a deliberately unrealistic high number.

Concept / Approach:
Under the Constitution of India, service conditions of High Court judges, including their retirement age, are specified and can be changed only by a Constitutional Amendment. The 15th Constitutional Amendment Act is known for increasing the retirement age of High Court judges from 60 to 62 years. The 10th Amendment is associated with territorial changes involving Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and the 12th Amendment deals with Goa, Daman and Diu. The very large number 245th is clearly unrealistic in the traditional exam context and serves as a distractor. Therefore the correct answer is the 15th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that there was a specific amendment that raised the retirement age of High Court judges from 60 to 62 years.Step 2: Remember from standard polity tables that this change came through the 15th Constitutional Amendment Act.Step 3: Check the options and identify the 15th Amendment as option C.Step 4: Recognise that the 10th and 12th Amendments have different subjects related to territorial matters and are not linked to judges retirement age.Step 5: Discard the 245th Amendment as an exaggerated distractor and confidently mark the 15th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify the answer by consulting a table of important Constitutional Amendments in any standard Indian polity book. The entries will show that the 15th Amendment is associated with the increase in retirement age of High Court judges, while the 42nd and 44th Amendments, for example, are known for other major structural changes. Remembering a few landmark amendments and their key features is an efficient way to cross check such questions in exams.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The 10th Constitutional Amendment Act is related to the incorporation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli into the Union of India and has nothing to do with judges retirement. The 12th Amendment deals with the incorporation of Goa, Daman and Diu into India. Neither of these amendments addresses judicial service conditions. The 245th Constitutional Amendment Act is not a recognised landmark in standard exam syllabi and appears mainly as a trick option. Therefore, these choices do not match the specific change mentioned in the question.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to confuse the 15th Amendment with other well known amendments like the 42nd or 44th simply because those numbers are more famous. Another pitfall is not paying attention to the specific subject of the amendment and just guessing based on the smallest or largest number. To avoid such errors, maintain a short list of important amendments with their core effects—such as 1st, 7th, 15th, 42nd, 44th and 73rd—and revise them regularly. This makes it much easier to handle amendment based questions accurately.

Final Answer:
The retirement age of High Court judges was raised from 60 to 62 years by the 15th Constitutional Amendment Act.