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A Supreme Court bench of Justices Chandrachud and Surya Kant has issued notice in a matter pertaining to court allowance to employees of the Supreme Court and asked the Solicitor General to assist them in the matter.

The Supreme Court Employees Welfare Association moved the Supreme Court against Centre's communication rejecting the Chief Justice of India's recommendation granting the allowance.

The employees of the Supreme Court had sought ‘court allowance’ at par with parliamentary allowance.

The CJI on recommendation of 2 Committees sought the President’s approval. Since the approval was denied by the Central government, the employees moved the Court.

Adv. Parameshwar appearing for the Association submitted that the Association had in January 2015 requested the then CJI to grant court employees allowance similar to that of parliamentary allowance.

The CJI then constituted a committee of officers and a committee of judges to consider whether the allowance can be granted.

Both the Committees had, by 2019, recommended that such an allowance be granted.

The CJI on receipt of the recommendations approved it and sought the President’s approval for grant of the allowance.

In September 2020, the Ministry rejected the proposal by a communication, without placing the proposal before the President. The Association has thus approached the Court, on the ground that the refusal grossly undermined the judiciary’s independence.

Parameshwar further argued that Article 146(2) of the Constitution did not empower the Ministry to reject the approval without even putting it up to the President of India. 

The Supreme Court while issuing notice sought the assistance of the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in the matter.

Cause Title: Supreme Court Employees Association vs Union of India