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Synopsis

The Supreme Court has on January 4, 2024 said that judicial independence, necessary to preserve the faith and confidence of common citizens in the rule of law, can be ensured and enhanced only so long as judges are able to lead their lives with a sense of financial dignity during their tenure and after retirement.

It said that the State is duty-bound to ensure that the conditions of service of judicial officers, both during the tenure of office and after retirement, are commensurate with the need to maintain dignified working conditions.

The State is under an affirmative obligation to ensure dignified conditions of work for its judicial officers and it cannot raise the defense of an increase in financial burden or expenditure, it emphasized.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra accepted the recommendations of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission and directed constitution of a committee in each high court for overseeing the implementation of the recommendations of the pay panel as approved by the top court. 

It directed all States and Union Territories to act in terms of the directions expeditiously. 

The court also ordered that disbursements on account of arrears of salary, pension, and allowances due and payable to judicial officers, retired judicial officers, and family pensioners shall be computed and paid on or before February 29, 2024. 

It also directed the 'Committee for Service Conditions of the District Judiciary' to submit a report through the registrar general of each high court on or before April 7, 2024. 

In its 51-page order, the bench underscored that judicial service is an integral and significant component of the functions of the State and contributes to the constitutional obligation to sustain the rule of law. 

If the service of the judiciary is to be a viable career option so as to attract talent, conditions of service, both for working and retired officers, must offer security and dignity, it stressed.

"Judicial service is distinct in its characteristics and in terms of the responsibilities which are cast upon the officers of the District Judiciary to render objective dispensation of justice to citizens," the bench said.

The court pointed out that the conditions in which judicial officers across the country are required to work are arduous. 

The work of a judicial officer is not confined merely to the working hours as he is required to work both before and after the court working hours. The judicial work of each day requires preparation before cases are called out. A judicial officer continues to work on cases which may have been dealt with in court, in terms of preparing the judgment and attending to other administrative aspects of the judicial record, it said.

That apart, members of the district judiciary have wide ranging administrative functions which take place beyond working hours, especially on week-ends including the discharge of numerous duties in relation to prison establishments, juvenile justice institutions, legal service camps and in general, work associated with the Legal Services Act 1987, court highlighted. 

The work of a judge cannot be assessed solely in terms of their duties during court working hours, it said.  

The bench said that the nature of the office often renders the incumbent incapacitated in availing of opportunities for legal work which may otherwise be available to a member of the Bar. That furnishes an additional reason why post-retirement, it is necessary for the State to ensure that judicial officers are able to live in conditions of human dignity, the bench said. 

"It needs to be emphasised that providing for judges, both during their tenure and upon retirement, is correlated with the independence of the judiciary," the bench said.

"Judicial independence, which is necessary to preserve the faith and confidence of common citizens in the rule of law, can be ensured and enhanced only so long as judges are able to lead their life with a sense of financial dignity. The conditions of service while a judge is in service must ensure a dignified existence. The post-retirement conditions of service have a crucial bearing on the dignity and independence of the office of a judge and how it is perceived by the society," the bench added.

Case Title: All India Judges Association Vs Union of India