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Supreme Court Directs High Courts to Form Committees for Implementing Judicial Pay Commission Recommendations
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, January 23, 2025:
On January 21, 2025, the Supreme Court of India mandated all High Courts to establish Committees for Service Conditions of the District Judiciary (CSCDJs) within four weeks. These committees are tasked with implementing the recommendations of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission concerning the salaries and service conditions of district judiciary members.
As per the report of the Bar and Bench, the bench, comprising Justices BR Gavai, Augustine George Masih, and K Vinod Chandran, emphasized the necessity of these committees to prevent the Supreme Court from being inundated with individual grievances from judicial officers. The court noted that effective implementation of its January 2024 directives could resolve most issues at the committee level.
Each CSCDJ is to include two High Court judges nominated by the Chief Justice (one with prior district judiciary experience), the Law Secretary or Legal Remembrancer, the Registrar General of the High Court serving as an ex officio Secretary, and a retired District Judge appointed as the Nodal Officer for day-to-day grievance redressal. The Nodal Officer is to be provided with office space within the High Court premises and will receive a monthly compensation of ₹75,000 in addition to their pension. For High Courts with multiple benches, the Nodal Officer is required to visit other benches to address grievances from judicial officers in those jurisdictions, with travel and daily expenses covered by the respective State governments.
The Supreme Court also directed that these committees meet at least every three months, and that State governments implement decisions on individual grievances within three months from the date of the decision. Judicial officers dissatisfied with the CSCDJs' decisions or their implementation may seek redress from the respective High Courts.
The Registrar General of the Supreme Court has been instructed to forward the order to the Registrar Generals of all High Courts and the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories to ensure compliance.