The Chief Secretaries of 18 states and union territories appeared before the Supreme Court on Tuesday for allegedly failing to implement the Second National Judicial Pay Commission’s recommendations on pension arrears and retirement benefits for judicial officers.
The Supreme Court reviewed compliance affidavits from states and union territories, including Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Kerala, and Delhi, and subsequently closed proceedings against them.
The bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stated that chief secretaries and finance secretaries from states that have complied with the Court’s orders on payment of arrears, pensions, and allowances for judicial officers no longer need to appear in court.
“We take no pleasure in summoning the chief and finance secretaries of the states, but the consistent absence of state counsels during hearings has made it necessary,” the Court noted.
The Court had summoned top officials from Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, and Odisha to appear before it on Tuesday.
The summons followed a report by senior lawyer K Parmeswar, acting as amicus curiae (a friend of the court), who informed the bench that despite multiple orders and extensions, 18 states and union territories had not fully complied with the SNJPC recommendations.
The All India Judges Association (AIJA) has been advocating for the implementation of various welfare measures for former judges and judicial officers.
