NEW DELHI: After a wait of 10 long years, over 21,000 judges in India’s subordinate judiciary are set to get a pay hike. The government has finalised the modalities and logistical framework of the third National Judicial Pay Commission (NJPC) for the same.
The Supreme Court had ordered the constitution of the NJPC earlier this year. The body is supposed to review the pay structure, pension and other service conditions of judges belonging to the lower judiciary.
The law ministry has prepared a detailed proposal with Terms of Reference for the guidance of the Commission. It is likely to submit the proposal to the Union Cabinet on October 11, sources said.
The three-member commission, to be headed by former Kerala High Court Judge Justice PV Reddy, will also have Supreme Court lawyer R Basant as a member. The third member will be chosen by the commission and he/she could be a serving or retired judicial officer.
The judges of the lower judiciary last got a hike with effect from 2006 after recommendation of the second NJPC led by Justice Padmanabhan.
A senior official in the Law Ministry said that the ministry has prepared a budget for the functioning of the commission and once the proposal is approved by the Cabinet, the Finance ministry would release the funds.
The remuneration of subordinate judiciary is done by the state governments unlike higher judiciary whose salaries are a subject of the Central government and the Parliament. An official said that the draft document prepared by the ministry advises the commission to ensure that there is uniformity in the pay scale and post-retirement benefits of judges across all states and Union Terrirories.
According to sources, the ministry has also recommended setting up of a permanent mechanism to review the pay and service conditions of members of subordinate judiciary periodically by an independent commission.
The Third NJPC
The SC order for constitution of the third NJPC came on a petition by the All India Judges Association, which was formed in 1985 with the objective of improving service condition of judges in the lower judiciary. The first NJPC headed by Justice Shetty was constituted on March 21, 1996, and it gave its recommendations in November 1999.