Pay hike for subordinate court judges, Supreme Court verdict in favour of Judiciary. Padmanabhan Committee report is to be implemented.

Despite reservations by some states, the Supreme Court has directed implementation of increased pay scales for judicial officers of subordinate courts across the country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan last week said state governments would give salary as per the recommendations of the Justice Padmanabhan committee enhancing the salary almost three-fold for the district court judges. Justice E Padmanabhan had submitted the report on July 27 last year to the SC recommending uniform salary with enhanced scales for the judges of same rank in all the states translating into at least Rs 20,000 hike for a magistrate at the entry level. In his report, Justice Padmanabhan had proposed an average 3.07-fold hike in existing salaries, which was recommended by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission. The All India Judges Association (AIJA) had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking implementation of the recommendation of the committee contending that there had been a wide disparity between the salaries of judicial officers and other government employees. The hike in pay scales is to be implemented with effect from January 2006 as per the recommendations of the apex court-appointed committee which had submitted its report in July 2009. During the hearing, many   states had cited difficulties to implement the recommendations to give a pay hike to the judges. Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal said they did not have funds to give a pay hike to the judges of the district courts. The SC had sought a response from the states and all high courts on the three-fold salary hike recommended for trial court judges by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission. The commission has fixed a whopping salary scale starting from Rs 73,370 for a district judge (super time scale) as against the existing Rs 24,850. Source : Deccan Herald.

Following is excerpts from the Supreme Court Order : -

"...............All the States are hereby    directed to          implement         Justice Padmanabhan Committee recommendations with    effect     from       1.1.2006.      There      should     be 

uniformity and all the States should implement recommendations 

and shall raise the pay scale allowances from 1.1.2006 and 

shall pay arrears of salary, if any.

       However, with an intention to give maximum benefits to the

Judicial Officers, following modalities are worked out, with

regard to payment of arrears of pay scales.

              60% of the arrears be paid in cash spread over in two

financial years and 40% be deposited in the Provident Fund

account forthwith in the respective account of the Judicial

Officers.         We   reiterate      that     if     in    any    State    the    6th    Pay

Commission recommendations are more beneficial to the Judicial

Officers, they will continue to be benefited to that extent......"

Visit the Supreme Court Website for full text of the Order.