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Financial dignity of judges is essential for judicial independence: SC
The Supreme Court of India has stated that ensuring financial dignity for judges is crucial for maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The court emphasized the importance of suitable working conditions for judges during their tenure and after retirement. It also highlighted the significant role played by the district judiciary in the administration of states. The court will continue to address various allowances and post-retirement benefits recommended by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission.
New Delhi Ensuring the financial dignity of judges is essential for maintaining the independence of the judiciary, the Supreme Court held on Thursday as it backed suitable working conditions for the judges — both during their tenure and after they retire.
“Judicial independence, which is necessary to maintain faith and confidence of people in the rule of law, can be assured and enhanced so long as judges are able to lead their lives with a sense of financial dignity,” said a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.
The bench, which also comprised justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, highlighted the pivotal role the district judiciary plays in states’ administration while issuing directives on implementation of pay hikes for judicial officers, as recommended by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) three years ago.
“District judicial service is central to strengthening the functioning of the state and the rule of law. The state is duty bound to ensure that availability of services both during service and retirement is commensurate with the facilities and emoluments made available to the former judicial officers,” said the court.
The district judiciary is the first point of contact for citizens, said the bench, adding the conditions in which district judiciary work is “arduous” and that their work is not confined to only working hours of the courts. It called it a “misnomer” to postulate that work of a judge is assessed in terms of performance of duty only during court working hours, underlining the officers are required to work both before and after court working hours and judicial work requires preparation before cases called out and deal with cases later after being heard. Besides, the court noted, members of the district judiciary have wide-ranging administrative functions that include numerous duties in relation to prison establishments, postal institutions, legal services camps etc.
Emphasising the correlation between appropriate allowances to judges and safeguarding the independence of the judiciary, the court said that the State is under affirmative obligation to provide services to judges and thus, it cannot resort to financial burden.
“Judicial officers spend the largest part of their working hours in service of the institution. The nature of judicial office often renders incapacitated opportunities of legal work which may otherwise be available to a member of the bar. That furnishes an additional reason that by post-retirement, there is necessary for the state to ensure that judicial officers are able to live in conditions of human dignity,” it said.
The bench will continue dictating its order on Friday when it would deal with a variety of allowances and post-retirement benefits that the SNJPC recommended in its 2020 report. Advocate K Parameshwar has been assisting the bench as amicus curiae.
On a petition by All India Judges Association, the top court had in 2017 constituted the SNJPC, which was headed by justice PV Reddi (retd) as its chairman with senior advocate R Basant as its member. In January 2020, the Commission submitted its final report to the court with recommendations covering pay structure, pension and family pension and allowances. The report also favoured a permanent mechanism to determine subjects of service conditions of the district judiciary.
