No consensus on salary hike for SC, HC judges

NEW DELHI: The Conference of Chief Justices of the High Courts, presided over by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, on Friday debated the agenda item proposing a 10-fold hike in the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts but could not reach a consensus. The annual conference of the CJs, which concluded here, discussed the salary hike issue along with a host of other agenda items, including increasing the retirement age of HC judges from 62 years at present to 65 years. While no final view could be taken on the salary issue, the CJs were firm that the judiciary should send a recommendation to the government to raise the retirement age of High Court Judges from 62 to 65 years. They took into account a 2007-08 report of a parliamentary committee which said: "There is valid reason behind bringing uniformity in the retirement age of judges of the HCs and that of the judges of the SC." The committee had also felt that there was no rationale in the argument that at 62, an HC judge was too old to continue work in the high court, but he could be entrusted to carry out the duties of a SC judge for three more years. The CJs also resolved to take immediate steps to fill up lower court vacancies and speed up trial proceedings, upgradation of infrastructure, financial autonomy to HCs, make merit the determinative criteria for elevation of judicial officers as judges of HCs and set up vigilance cells in each judicial district to monitor and watch the activities of ministerial staff of subordinate courts. One of the agenda items proposed that judges of the SC and HCs should be paid not less than Rs 3 lakh per month. The agenda paper had said the 6th Pay Commission, for future appointments as chairpersons of regulatory bodies such as SEBI, TRAI, CERC, CCI and IRDA, has recommended consolidated salary of up to Rs 3 lakh per month. (dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com)

19 Apr 2008, 0249 hrs IST , Dhananjay Mahapatra , TNN
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