New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stressed on the importance of ensuring dignified working conditions for judicial officers during their tenure and post-retirement on Thursday.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra emphasized on the correlation between providing appropriate allowances to judges and safeguarding the independence of the judiciary.
The bench said judicial independence is necessary to preserve the faith and common citizens' confidence in the rule of law, and it can be ensured and enhanced as long as judges are able to live and lead their lives with a sense of financial dignity.
"The state is duty-bound to ensure that the conditions of service both during the tenure of office and upon retirement are commensurate with the need for dignity in terms of working conditions and post-retirement benefits made available to former judicial service candidates," the apex court said.
The bench cited that the district judicial officers worked beyond court hours to draft judgments and engage in various administrative functions, which form integral aspects of a judicial officer's responsibilities. It added that judicial officers work both before and after court working hours.
The apex court stressed that the district judiciary is the first point of engagement for citizens who are confronted with the need for dispute resolution and the conditions in which judicial offices across the country work are, to say the least arduous. The bench said it is a misnomer to postulate that the work of a judge is assessed in terms of the performance of duties during court working hours.
Regarding financial concerns raised by the states, the apex court did not accept the argument that increased expenditure for maintaining proper conditions of service was a justifiable defense.
The apex court said the state is under an affirmative obligation to ensure dignified conditions of work to the judicial officers and it cannot justifiably raise the defence of increase in financial burden.
The apex court made these observations while pronouncing an order in All India Judges Association v. Union of India. The matter pertains to the implementation of pay hikes for judicial officers recommended by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC).
