Summary of Supreme Court Judgment (Suo Motu WP(C) No. 4/2024 et al.)

 

Summary of Supreme Court Judgment (Suo Motu WP(C) No. 4/2024 et al.)

Background & Issues
A batch of writ petitions challenged various anomalies in terminal benefits under the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 (HCJ Act). The Court identified six core issues:

1. Failure to reckon District Judiciary service in pension.

2. Denial of full pension for break-in service before High Court appointment.

3. Entitlement of judges who joined the judiciary after the New Pension Scheme.

4. Pension rights of Additional Judges.

5. Family pension and gratuity for widows/family of Additional Judges.

6. Provident Fund and other post-retirement benefits .

Legal Framework & Precedents
Under Article 221 of the Constitution and HCJ Act provisions (Sections 2, 13A, 14, 15, 17A, First Schedule), the Court reaffirmed landmark rulings—including M.L. Jain I & II, Kuldip Singh, P. Ramakrishnam Raju, Raj Rani Jain, Jagdish Chandra Gupta, and Justice Shailendra Singh—establishing:

• One Rank One Pension and non-discrimination among judges irrespective of source of entry.

• Full reckoning of all service (including adding ten years for Bar entrants) when computing pension.

Key Holdings

1. Uniform Full Pension

   • Retired Chief Justices: ₹15,00,000 per annum.

   • Other High Court Judges: ₹13,50,000 per annum.

2. Additional Judges

   • Judges retiring as Additional Judges receive the same full pension (₹13,50,000 per annum).

3. One Rank One Pension

   • Pension must be calculated on last drawn High Court salary, ignoring any break-in service.

4. NPS Entrants

   • Judges who served under the New Pension Scheme are entitled to full pension.

   • States must refund the Judges’ NPS contributions (plus dividends); State contributions remain with each State.

5. Family Pension & Gratuity

   • Widows/family of any Judge (Permanent or Additional) are entitled to family pension under Section 17A and gratuity.

   • Gratuity must be calculated by adding ten years to qualifying service.

6. Provident Fund & Other Benefits

   • All allowances payable on retirement—including leave encashment (Sec 4A), commutation (Sec 19), Provident Fund (Sec 20)—apply equally to all retired Judges.

Directions
The Union of India is directed to implement these entitlements uniformly and dispose of all pending applications accordingly.