The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that high court judges, irrespective of their background or route of appointment, are entitled to equal salaries and benefits. This landmark decision was made to ensure that judges recruited from the district judiciary receive the same pension and benefits as those elevated from the bar.
The ruling came from a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, during a hearing concerning salary dues of Patna High Court judges. The bench clarified that once appointed, high court judges form a homogeneous class under the Constitution and should not face discrimination in compensation or benefits.
“High courts are constitutional institutions and their constitutional status is recognized by Article 216, which does not distinguish how high court judges are recruited,” the bench stated. “Once appointed in the high court, every judge ranks at par. The institution of the high court consists of the chief justice and all other judges appointed.”
The Supreme Court highlighted that financial independence is crucial for maintaining judicial independence, emphasizing that all high court judges hold the constitutional character of the office. “Neither Article 221(1) of the Constitution, which empowers Parliament to determine the salaries of each of the high court’s judges, nor Article 221(2) contemplates that discrimination can be made between the high court judges based on the source from which they are drawn,” the court noted.
