By Aditya AK & Anuj Agrawal.As expected, the Seventh Pay Commission’s report has received a significant amount of media attention. Headed by ex-Supreme Court judge, AK Mathur J., the CPC has made a number of recommendations, with the projected increase in salaries touching one lakh crore rupees. .And within this 900-page report are a series of recommendations that are crucial for the Indian lawyer. .In this article, we look at whether or not the CPC will have sarkari lawyers and other legal personnel rubbing their hands in anticipation. .1. Windfall Supreme.According to the report, around INR 94.73 crore was spent on the salaries and expenditures related to officers and employees of the Supreme Court in the year 2012-13..Now, the Supreme Court Employees Welfare Association has asked for a hike in salaries and allowances of personnel of the apex court. They have sought an increment of not less than 4% p.a. and five hierarchical upgradation for all employees in their career..The CPC has acceded to this request, approving upgrade in the pay scales of a number of posts including:.Junior Court Assistant,Court Assistant,Personal Assistants,Assistant Librarian,Proof Reader.However, the CPC has decided not to hike the pay of Supreme Court canteen staff..2. Atithi Devo Bha-what?: An end to sumptuary allowance.Up until now, judicial officers in the Supreme Court Registry were entitled to a non-taxable sumptuary allowance for the purpose of entertaining guests. The Pay Commission has now called for the abolition of this allowance altogether, given how these allowances have “lost their relevance”..3. Suiting up: Robe allowance.Members of the Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS) and legal officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) were granted an annual “robe allowance” of 2,500 and 5,000 rupees respectively. This has now been increased to Rs. 10,000 per year.4. Fend for yourselves.Under the present scheme of things, Public Prosecutors and Senior Public Prosecutors employed by the NIA were given a court allowance of Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2,000 respectively. This was meant to cover miscellaneous expenses incurred in court..The CPC has recommended abolishing this, finding no justification for its continuance..5. Orderly allowance – status quo.All Judicial Officers on deputation to the Supreme Court receive the same orderly allowance as they did under the parent office. The status quo has been maintained..6. In-COMPAT-ible.The court masters of the Competition Appellate Tribunal have demanded parity with Court masters of the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. This demand has been denied, saying that there cannot be parity for posts in different organisations simply on the basis of nomenclature..7. CESTAT-us quo.Different ages of retirement are clearly not the only differentiator between a judge of the High Court and one of the Supreme Court..Currently, if the President of the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal is a retired Supreme Court judge, her salary is INR 90,000, but if she is a retired High Court judge, then her salary is INR 80,000..Hence a demand was made to raise the Presidents’ salary to Rs. 90,000 irrespective of the post he previously held. This demand was denied..As for Registrar, Joint Registrar, and other posts, the CPC has again refused to interfere, with two of the posts (Asst. Registrar and Court Master) currently in litigation before the Central Administrative Tribunal..8. Objection Sustained.For the second time in a row, Public Prosecutors in Delhi’s Directorate of Prosecution have sought an increase in their pay band. Reliance was placed on the fact that Assistant of Public Prosecutor of GNCT Delhi were are getting GP 5400, while Assistant PP’s in Delhi are getting GP 4600. However, the request has been turned down once again..9. Chalk and Cheese.The officers of the Indian Legal Services want parity with All India services and judiciary services. The CPC has denied the request as the scope and function of judiciary services and legal services is completely different..10. No tit for ITAT.The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal had demanded increases in pay for Registry Officers and Clerical Staff, relying on parity between ITAT and CAT. The CPC had stuck to its earlier stance, which was that there is no parity between the two..Another demand was that the Vice President and the President be given a grade pay on par with CBDT members..The CPC has recommended upgradation for the Vice President of ITAT, the logic being that the Vice President, ITAT hears appeals against decisions given by Members og the CBDT/Principal CCIT and CCIT..11. Not a gravy train.The Ministry of Railways has a legal cadre comprising close to 450 members. However, there are only a few posts in GP 6600 and GP 7600 and just one post in GP 10,000..An argument was made that this needs to be reviewed given the increasing litigation that involves the railways..However, the CPC has decided that no interference is merited, and that this would be the prerogative of the Railways Ministry.
By Aditya AK & Anuj Agrawal.As expected, the Seventh Pay Commission’s report has received a significant amount of media attention. Headed by ex-Supreme Court judge, AK Mathur J., the CPC has made a number of recommendations, with the projected increase in salaries touching one lakh crore rupees. .And within this 900-page report are a series of recommendations that are crucial for the Indian lawyer. .In this article, we look at whether or not the CPC will have sarkari lawyers and other legal personnel rubbing their hands in anticipation. .1. Windfall Supreme.According to the report, around INR 94.73 crore was spent on the salaries and expenditures related to officers and employees of the Supreme Court in the year 2012-13..Now, the Supreme Court Employees Welfare Association has asked for a hike in salaries and allowances of personnel of the apex court. They have sought an increment of not less than 4% p.a. and five hierarchical upgradation for all employees in their career..The CPC has acceded to this request, approving upgrade in the pay scales of a number of posts including:.Junior Court Assistant,Court Assistant,Personal Assistants,Assistant Librarian,Proof Reader.However, the CPC has decided not to hike the pay of Supreme Court canteen staff..2. Atithi Devo Bha-what?: An end to sumptuary allowance.Up until now, judicial officers in the Supreme Court Registry were entitled to a non-taxable sumptuary allowance for the purpose of entertaining guests. The Pay Commission has now called for the abolition of this allowance altogether, given how these allowances have “lost their relevance”..3. Suiting up: Robe allowance.Members of the Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS) and legal officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) were granted an annual “robe allowance” of 2,500 and 5,000 rupees respectively. This has now been increased to Rs. 10,000 per year.4. Fend for yourselves.Under the present scheme of things, Public Prosecutors and Senior Public Prosecutors employed by the NIA were given a court allowance of Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2,000 respectively. This was meant to cover miscellaneous expenses incurred in court..The CPC has recommended abolishing this, finding no justification for its continuance..5. Orderly allowance – status quo.All Judicial Officers on deputation to the Supreme Court receive the same orderly allowance as they did under the parent office. The status quo has been maintained..6. In-COMPAT-ible.The court masters of the Competition Appellate Tribunal have demanded parity with Court masters of the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. This demand has been denied, saying that there cannot be parity for posts in different organisations simply on the basis of nomenclature..7. CESTAT-us quo.Different ages of retirement are clearly not the only differentiator between a judge of the High Court and one of the Supreme Court..Currently, if the President of the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal is a retired Supreme Court judge, her salary is INR 90,000, but if she is a retired High Court judge, then her salary is INR 80,000..Hence a demand was made to raise the Presidents’ salary to Rs. 90,000 irrespective of the post he previously held. This demand was denied..As for Registrar, Joint Registrar, and other posts, the CPC has again refused to interfere, with two of the posts (Asst. Registrar and Court Master) currently in litigation before the Central Administrative Tribunal..8. Objection Sustained.For the second time in a row, Public Prosecutors in Delhi’s Directorate of Prosecution have sought an increase in their pay band. Reliance was placed on the fact that Assistant of Public Prosecutor of GNCT Delhi were are getting GP 5400, while Assistant PP’s in Delhi are getting GP 4600. However, the request has been turned down once again..9. Chalk and Cheese.The officers of the Indian Legal Services want parity with All India services and judiciary services. The CPC has denied the request as the scope and function of judiciary services and legal services is completely different..10. No tit for ITAT.The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal had demanded increases in pay for Registry Officers and Clerical Staff, relying on parity between ITAT and CAT. The CPC had stuck to its earlier stance, which was that there is no parity between the two..Another demand was that the Vice President and the President be given a grade pay on par with CBDT members..The CPC has recommended upgradation for the Vice President of ITAT, the logic being that the Vice President, ITAT hears appeals against decisions given by Members og the CBDT/Principal CCIT and CCIT..11. Not a gravy train.The Ministry of Railways has a legal cadre comprising close to 450 members. However, there are only a few posts in GP 6600 and GP 7600 and just one post in GP 10,000..An argument was made that this needs to be reviewed given the increasing litigation that involves the railways..However, the CPC has decided that no interference is merited, and that this would be the prerogative of the Railways Ministry.