The Supreme Court is set to deliberate on a unique predicament faced by Patna High Court Justice Rudra Prakash Mishra, who has not received his salary for the past 10 months due to the absence of a General Provident Fund (GPF) account. This issue has brought to the forefront broader concerns regarding the pension and pay disparities among serving and former high court judges.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has scheduled a hearing for Friday, prioritizing the case after counsel for Justice Mishra highlighted the urgency of his financial situation.
Senior Advocate K Parameswar, serving as amicus curiae, explained that the Bihar government’s transition to a new pension scheme has inadvertently affected Justice Mishra’s salary disbursements. The case also touches on the broader “One Rank One Pension” issue, which concerns discrepancies in pension allotments under old and new schemes across different states.
“The whole issue pertains to ‘One Rank One Pension’ for judicial officers and another matter relating to the pensions of HC Judges in old pension schemes and new pension schemes by states,” Parameswar noted.
The Chief Justice emphasized the importance of uniformity in the treatment of judges within the same cadre, stating, “There cannot be a difference between the pensions of the judges belonging to the same cadre.”
The controversy began when Justice Mishra, who was elevated to the high court from the district judiciary on November 4, 2023, found himself without a GPF account. Despite submitting all necessary documentation, the transition from the New Pension Scheme (NPS) to the GPF under the old pension scheme has been fraught with challenges, leading him to forego his salary since November 2023.
Filed through advocate Prem Prakash, Justice Mishra’s plea seeks the Supreme Court’s intervention to establish a temporary GPF account and secure the release of his overdue salary. The plea also requests a definitive ruling from the apex court affirming his right to subscribe to GPF accounts under section 20 of the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954.
