Thursday 29 March 2018

SC Directs 30% Hike In Basic Pay For Subordinate Judges

The Committee appointed by this Court by the Orders of this
Court dated 9.5.2017, submitted a report dated 9.3.2018 on Interim
Relief(Pay) to the Judicial Officers. The gist of the Report is
summarised in paragraph 15 of the Report. It reads:-
Summary of recommendations:-
1. Interim relief to the extent of 30% of increase in basic pay
with accrued increments shall be paid to all categories/ranks of
Judicial Officers.
2. The said increased in Pay shall be treated as a separate
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component and no D.A. is payable thereon.
3. Arrears shall be worked out with effect from 01.01.2016 on the
above basis. The details of calculations are set out in Annexure-
I.
4. On the same basis, the interim relief shall be provided to the
pensioners and family pensioners with effect from 01.01.2016 and
the arrears to be paid accordingly.
5. Wherever the benefit of interim relief has already been
granted, the Judicial Officers in those States/UTs can exercise
their option to continue to be governed by such Orders.
6. The amounts payable by way of interim relief now proposed are
liable to the adjusted against the future determination pursuant to
the final report submitted by the Commission.
Heard Mr. A.N.S. Nadkarni, ASG, Mr. Tushar Mehta, ASG,
Mr. Gourab Banerji, learned senior counsel for the petitioner
Association and various learned counsel representing some of the
States and the Union Territories. None of the respondents raised
any objection with respect to the recommendations made by the
above-mentioned Committee regarding the interim relief(pay). In
the circumstances, we deem it appropriate to direct all the
respondents to implement the recommendations of the Commission, the
summary of which is already extracted above.

(ii) that the interim relief regarding the pay of
the Judicial Officers as recommended by the Commission be
implemented by all the concerned States and Union Territories
w.e.f. 1st of May, 2018. The arrears payable pursuant to the abovementioned
recommendations shall be paid on or before 30th June,
2018.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE/ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 643/2015
ALL INDIA JUDGES ASSOCIATION 
V
UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
WITH
SLP( C ) No. 31461/2017
T.C.(C ) No. 3/2018
O R D E R
WP(C ) No. 643/2015

The Committee appointed by this Court by the Orders of this
Court dated 9.5.2017, submitted a report dated 9.3.2018 on Interim
Relief(Pay) to the Judicial Officers. The gist of the Report is
summarised in paragraph 15 of the Report. It reads:-
Summary of recommendations:-
1. Interim relief to the extent of 30% of increase in basic pay
with accrued increments shall be paid to all categories/ranks of
Judicial Officers.
2. The said increased in Pay shall be treated as a separate

component and no D.A. is payable thereon.
3. Arrears shall be worked out with effect from 01.01.2016 on the
above basis. The details of calculations are set out in Annexure-
I.
4. On the same basis, the interim relief shall be provided to the
pensioners and family pensioners with effect from 01.01.2016 and
the arrears to be paid accordingly.
5. Wherever the benefit of interim relief has already been
granted, the Judicial Officers in those States/UTs can exercise
their option to continue to be governed by such Orders.
6. The amounts payable by way of interim relief now proposed are
liable to the adjusted against the future determination pursuant to
the final report submitted by the Commission.
Heard Mr. A.N.S. Nadkarni, ASG, Mr. Tushar Mehta, ASG,
Mr. Gourab Banerji, learned senior counsel for the petitioner
Association and various learned counsel representing some of the
States and the Union Territories. None of the respondents raised
any objection with respect to the recommendations made by the
above-mentioned Committee regarding the interim relief(pay). In
the circumstances, we deem it appropriate to direct all the
respondents to implement the recommendations of the Commission, the
summary of which is already extracted above.

It is also brought to our notice that the Committee faced
certain difficulties in the process of executing the task entrusted
to them. The Chairman of the Committee addressed a letter to Mr.
P.S. Narasimha, who is assisting the Committee. Mr. Narasimha
placed a note before this Court pointing out the salient features
of the above-mentioned letter. Having regard to the content of the
letter mentioned above, we deem it appropriate to direct the Union
of India as follows:-
(i) The Chairman and Members of the Commission should receive
emoluments/pay and allowances from 01.06.2017 as they had commenced
work in the first week of June, 2017.
(ii) The Secretary should receive emoluments w.e.f. 01.09.2017, as
he had commenced work on 16.08.2017.
We also deem it appropriate to direct (i) the State of
Telangana to provide the assistance of one of its Officers, not
below the rank of a Joint Secretary in the Finance Department, to
the Commission (ii) that the interim relief regarding the pay of
the Judicial Officers as recommended by the Commission be
implemented by all the concerned States and Union Territories
w.e.f. 1st of May, 2018. The arrears payable pursuant to the abovementioned
recommendations shall be paid on or before 30th June,
2018.

List this matter in the first week of August, 2018.
SLP(C ) No. 31461/2017
T.C.(C )No. 3/2018
These two matters are inter-connected. The special leave
petition arises out of an interlocutory order passed by the Bombay
High Court on 11.8.2017 in PIL No. 188 of 2015, which is the
subject matter of Transferred Case No. 3/2018.
It appears that the above-mentioned writ petition came to be
filed as a Public Interest Litigation projecting various perceived
inadequacies in the service conditions of the Officers of the
Subordinate Judiciary of the State of Maharashtra and seeking
appropriate reliefs. One of the grievances in the Public Interest
Litigation is regarding the pay and other allowances including the
pension of the Subordinate Judicial Officers in the State of
Maharashtra.
Admittedly, till 1st January, 2016, payment of salaries and
pension and other allowances were made in accordance with the
recommendations made earlier by the two Committees appointed by
this Court otherwise known as Shetty Commission and Padmanabhan
Commission. It appears, subsequent to 1.1.2016, the State of
Maharashtra took a different stand, the details of which we do not
want to go at this stage, in view of the statement made by
Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned ASG representing State of Maharashtra.

It is expressly stated that the report regarding the interim
relief(pay) and the orders passed by this Court in WP(C ) No.
643/2015 would be implemented by the State of Maharashtra and would
be bound by the final order of this Court in All India Judges
Association Vs. Union of India & Ors.(W.P.(C ) No. 643/2015)
proceedings, to be passed after a final report of the Commission is
received.
By an Order dated 1.12.2017, this Court called upon the High
Court of Bombay to transfer the writ petition no. 188 of 2015 to
this Court. It is stated by Mr. B.H. Marlapalle, learned senior
counsel and Mr. Tushar Mehta, ASG appearing for the State of
Maharashtra that the grievances projected in the writ petition are
not only confined to the payment of salaries, allowances and
pension and various other issues like inadequacy of infrastructural
facilities in the State of Maharashtra etc. and those questions
could more conveniently be dealt with by the High Court.
In the circumstances, we deem it appropriate to direct the
Registry to return the Writ Petition No. 188 of 2015 to the Bombay
High Court for disposal in accordance with law. The High Court
would obviously not deal with the questions which are being
considered by this Court for the resolution, of which Justice
Venkatarama Reddi Commission had been appointed.
The writ petition no. 188 of 2015 is remitted back to the Bombay
High Court. The transferred case is accordingly disposed of.
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The special leave petition is also disposed of accordingly.
……………………………………………………………...J.
(J. CHELAMESWAR)
…………………………………………………………………J.
(SANJAY KISHAN KAUL)
NEW DELHI
March 27, 2018


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