BIDHUBHUSHAN MALIK Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) B. D. Agrawal, J. Chapter III of High Court Judges (Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 (Act No. 28 of 1954) provided for Payment of pension to High Court Judges. Section 14 of Chapter III of the aforesaid Act stated that every Judge shall, on his re- tirement, be paid a pension in accordance with the scale and provisions in Part I of the First Schedule.

(2.) PARLIAMENT amended this Act by High Court Judges (Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Act of 1976. The Amending Act came into force on March 18, 1976. The Amending Act was given some retrospectivity; Section 1 (2) there of provided that the Amending Act shall be deemed to have come into force on October 1, 1974. Inter alia, the Amending Act of 1976 amended the First Schedule of the parent Act. The amended Schedule liberalised the pension admissible to Judges and Chief Justices of High Courts. The following table shows the enhancement in pension : Prior to Amendment After the Amendment Paras. 2 to 5 Chief Justicejudge Rs. 20,000/- Rs. 16,0000/- Rs. 28,000/- Rs. 22,400/- Para. 8 Chief Justice Rs. 20,000/- Rs. 28,000/- Para. 9 Judge Rs. 6,000/- Rs. 8,400/-

(3.) FOR the petitioners it was urged that there is no rational basis for discrimination in the matter of according pensionary benefits between Judges of the High court who retired before Oct. 1, 1974, and those retiring subsequent to this date. The criteria upon which pension is awarded remains uniform, it is submitted, irrespective of whether the Judge retired prior to Oct. 1, 1974, or he retries on or after this date. The Judges constitute a class for that purpose; the date specified to constitute the demarcating line for giving benefit of liberalised pension is arbitrary having no nexus to the object behind the statutory provision. The discrimination, according to learned counsel's submission, infringes Article 14 of the Constitution.