By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 19, 2017: IN a major development, the Government has appointed Second National Judicial Pay Commission to evolve the principles which would govern the structure of pay and other emoluments of Judicial Officers belonging to the subordinate Judiciary all over the country. The Commission will devise its own procedures and formulate modalities necessary for accomplishing the task. It will examine the work methods and work environment as also the variety of allowance and benefits in kind that are available to Judicial Officers in addition to pay and to suggest rationalisation and simplification thereof with a view to promoting efficiency in Judicial Administration, optimizing the size of judiciary and to remove anomalies created in implementation of earlier recommendations.

The Commission will examine the present structure of emoluments and conditions of service of Judicial Officers in the states and UT's taking into account the total packet of benefits available to them and make suitable recommendations including post retirement benefits such as pension having regard among other relevant factors, to the existing relativities in the pay structure between the officers belonging to subordinate judicial services and other civil servant and mechanism for redressal of grievances in this regard.

The Commission is to be headed by Justice (Retd.) P. Venkatarama Reddi, former Judge of Supreme Court of India. Justice (Retd.) R. Basant, former Judge of Kerala High Court and Senior Advocate of Supreme Court of India is the member of the Commission. The Commission needs to choose the Member-Secretary, preferably a Judicial Officer either in service or retired.

Services of one of its Additional Solicitors General will be made available to assist the Commission by Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice in pursuance to the direction of the Apex Court. The Commission will indicate to the Ministry of Law & Justice (Department of Justice) as to its requirements of infrastructural support, including the personnel, if any, necessary for the purpose of carrying on the task.

The move comes after directions from the Apex Court in May 9, 2017. The first judicial pay commission, headed by Justice Jagannatha Shetty, was set up in March 21, 1996 and it submitted its report in November 11, 1999.