ALL INDIA JUDGES ASSOCIATION Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By its orders dtd. 27/7/2022, 5/4/2023 and 19/5/2023, this Court has accepted the recommendations of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission1, chaired by Justice P V Reddy, former Judge of this Court of India on the revision of pay and pension for judicial officers.

(2.) The abovementioned orders have delineated inter alia the history of the constitution of the SNJPC, and the principles underlying judicial pay, allowances and pensions. The contents of the earlier orders shall not be repeated here. This judgment pertains to the allowances which have been granted to judicial officers and retired judicial officers by the SNJPC. At this stage, it would be necessary to note that save and except for three allowances, where there was a modification, the allowances recommended by the First National Judicial Pay Commission known as the Shetty Commission were affirmed by this Court in All India Judges Association Vs. Union of India:(2002) 4 SCC 247. Thereafter, all allowances which were recommended by the subsequent pay commission, namely the Judicial Pay Commission3 called the Justice Padmanabhan Committee were accepted by this Court in its decision reported as All India Judges Association Vs Union of India:(2010) 14 SCC 720.

(3.) Besides Mr K Parameshwar, Amicus Curiae, all the State governments and Union Territories have been given an opportunity to furnish their objections to the allowances, as proposed by the SNJPC. Objections have been filed on the record of this Court.