Supreme Court summons Chief Secretaries of 3 states for failing to upgrade judges' pensions

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Chief Secretaries and Finance Secretaries of Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Delhi to personally appear before the court with affidavits setting out full compliance regarding the payment of district judges' pension..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra warned of contempt of court action in case the officials fail to remain present before the Court on August 23."We direct the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of Chhattisgarh to remain personally present in court with an affidavit of full compliance on August 23,2024. Failing which court will be constrained to resort to contempt jurisdiction," the Court said, before passing similar orders in respect of Delhi and Punjab..The Court was hearing a plea by All India Judges Association seeking implementation of the recommendations of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) in all States..Amicus Curiae K Parameshwar highlighted that the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) was being reduced from allowances by some High Courts."How can that be done at all?" the CJI remarked..Parameshwar further informed the Court that there was substantial non-compliance by the state of Andhra Pradesh, while several other states requested a six-month extension to implement the Court's order..The Court also noted that Andhra Pradesh claimed compliance. Accordingly, the Court directed a meeting of a specialised committee constituted by it and sought compliance by August 15."If not then this court shall initiate contempt against the officers of the state government. Same applies to West Bengal. No more extension of time. There have been 7 extensions," it said..Thereafter, the Court sought the presence of Chief Secretaries and Finance Secretaries of Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Delhi, warning of contempt of court action in case they failure to appear."We know how to extract compliance now. If we just say that chief secretary will be present if affidavit not filed then it will not be filed. We are not sending them to jail but let them be here and then affidavit be submitted. Let they be personally present now," the Court said..The officers in question have to be present in Court on August 23 while their affidavits have to be filed by August 20..The development came after the Bench had in November last year warned that contempt of court action would be taken against Chief Secretaries of States that do not comply with its May 19, 2023 directions to pay pension to district judges at revised rates.The Court had clarified that compliance would mean actually crediting the revised pension amounts to the bank accounts of judicial officers or their surviving spouses.On May 19, 2023, the Supreme Court had directed High Courts and competent authorities to make necessary amendments to service rules in conformity with certain recommendations accepted by the Court. This was to be done in the three months time, and the Bench has been hearing the case for compliance since.