The High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 – s. 14, 15, Para 2, Part III of the First Schedule – Entitlement of High Court Judge promoted from District Judiciary to pension and retirement benefits despite break in service – Break in service has no adverse implications in computing pension since service upon appointment of a High Court Judge is in pursuance a recommendation which was made during her tenure as a Judge of the District Judiciary The Respondent retired from District Judiciary on 31 July 2014 – Subsequently, she was promoted as High Court Judge and appointed in the Punjab & Haryana High Court on 25 September 2014 – The Respondent retired on 4 July 2016 on attaining the age of superannuation – The Appellant-Union of India contended that her service as the High Court Judge ought not be taken to calculate pensionary and retirement benefits as the break in service before assuming the role of High Court Judge cannot be condoned – The Appellant-Union of India contended that the Respondent has not completed twelve years of pensionable service as a Judge of the High Court to be eligible for the pension for High Court Judges under s.14 of the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act 1954 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) Held: s.15(1)(b) of the Act indicates that a person who has held a pensionable post under the Union or a State may elect to receive the pension payable either under Part I or Part III of the First Schedule of the Act – Service which is rendered as a High Court Judge has to be cumulated with the service rendered as a member of the District Judiciary by treating it as service therein for computing the pension – s.14 not applicable as contended by the Appellant-Union of India – Explanation to s. 14 is exhaustive and it applies to a Judge who has not held any pensionable post either in the Union or the State or a person who having held a pensionable post has opted to receive the benefits of pension under Part I of the First Schedule – The Respondent who has not opted to receive the benefits of pension under Part I of the First Schedule would fall outside the purview of Explanation to s. 14 – Post-retiral pension to such a Judge would be governed by s.15 r/w Para 2 of the Part III of the First Schedule – Contention of the Appellant-Union of India that the Respondent has not completed twelve years as High Court Judge does not apply in view of s.14A which entitles a member of the Bar elevated as High Court Judge to the addition of ten years of service – A similar principle, as applicable to Judges appointed from the Bar, must be applied for computing the pension of a member of the District Judiciary, who is appointed to the High Court – Any other interpretation would result in plain discrimination between Judges of the High Court based on the source from which they have been drawn – Break in service must necessarily have no adverse implications in computing the pension of the Respondent for the reason that her service upon appointment as a High Court Judge was in pursuance of a recommendation which was made during her tenure as a judge of the District Judiciary. [Paras 22, 26, 27 & 30] Judiciary – Retirement Benefits – Pensionary payments to Judges constitute a vital element in the independence of the judiciary
Held: As a consequence of long years of judicial office, Judges on demitting office do not necessarily have the options which are open to members from other services – The reason why the State assumes the obligation to pay pension to the Judges is to ensure that the protection of the benefits which are available after retirement would ensure their ability to discharge their duties without “fear or favour” – The purpose of creating dignified conditions of existence for Judges both during their tenure as the Judges are vital components of the rule of law – Independence of the judiciary is hence a vital doctrine which is recognized in the constitutional scheme – Payment of salaries and dignified pensions serves independence of judiciary. [Para 25]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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