On Monday, the Supreme Court mandated full and equal pension for all former judges of High Courts, regardless of their appointment date or whether they served as permanent or additional judges. The highest court also mandated equal post-retirement benefits for judges of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and for all district judges.
Consistency in post-retirement benefits
Supporting the ideology of ‘One Rank, One Pension’, Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai noted that, similar to salaries, consistency in post-retirement benefits is crucial to protect judicial independence and maintain the honor of the judicial position.
The Supreme Court declared that all High Court judges have the right to receive full pension, irrespective of their appointment date or whether they came from the Bar or were promoted from the district judiciary. It maintained that there should be no difference between temporary and permanent judges.
The bench further stated that benefits like gratuity and family pensions for widows, widowers, and other dependents should be consistent for all judges.
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‘Discrimination in post-retirement benefits will violate Article 14’
“We hold that any discrimination among judges for terminal benefits after retirement will be violative of Article 14. Thus, we hold all High Court judges, irrespective of when they entered (are) entitled to full pension. We also hold High Court judges who retired as additional judges will also get full pension and any distinction between judges and additional judges will be doing to violence…,” legal news portal Bar and Bench quoted the order.
A bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Gavai instructed the central government to provide a complete pension of Rs 15 lakh yearly to retired chief justices of High Courts and Rs 13.5 lakh annually to retired High Court judges.
