Judiciary is one of the pillars of the Indian Constitution. The judges are considered as a respectful, noble, and dignified profession. Therefore, judges are given good salaries as well as allowances and perks. This article will discuss how are the judges appointed and what are the salaries, perks, and allowances given to the judges in India.
What is the Salary of Judges in India?
The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 2018 (the “Act”) has laid down the salary, allowances, perks, and pension for all the judges. The Government of India in consultation with the Supreme Court decides the salary of the judges and this salary is consistent throughout the country.
A commission is set up by the Government of India to review the pay structure and service conditions of the judiciary and report the same to the Supreme Court for its scrutiny and approval.
There are two commissions namely;
- The Central Pay Commissions constituted by the Central government and
- The National Judicial Pay Commission was constituted by the Union Government.
The commission is constituted every 10 years. The pay of the Judges is increased after one year of the commission’s report.
On 29th January 2020, the Second National Judicial Pay Commission had put forward its report in the Registry of the Supreme Court about the pay, pension, and allowance of the judges.
The Second National Judicial Pay Commission was constituted pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court in the All India Judges Association Vs Union of India case.
Table 1 shows the pay structure of the judges in comparison with the proposal made by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission
Table 1: Salary of the Judges (per month) are as follows:
Judge’s Designation |
Present pay structure |
Proposed pay structure by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission |
| The Junior Civil Judge/First Class Magistrate | Rs. 27,000/- | Rs. 77,840/- |
| Senior Civil Judge | Rs. 39,530/- | Rs. 1,11,000/- |
| District Judge (Selection Grade) | Rs.51,550/- | Rs. 1,44,840/- |
| District Judge (Super Time Scale) | Rs. 76,450/- | Rs. 2,24,100/- |
| District Judge (Selection Grade) | Rs.51,550/- | Rs. 1,44,840/- |
| District Judge (Super Time Scale) | Rs. 76,450/- | Rs. 2,24,100/- |
As per the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment, Act, 2017
| Chief Justice of High Court | Rs. 90,000/- | Rs. 2,50,000/- |
| Other Judges of High Court | Rs. 80,000/- | Rs. 2,25,000/- |
| Chief Justice of India | Rs. 1,00,000/- | Rs. 2,80,000/- |
| Other Judges of the Supreme Court | Rs. 90,000/- | Rs. 250,000/- |
Table 2: Judges’ Allowances (per month)
Designation of Judges |
Present allowance (Rs.) |
Proposed allowance (Rs.) |
| Chief Justice of India | 20,000 | 45,000 |
| Other Judges of the Supreme Court | 15,000 | 34,000 |
| Chief Justice of High Court | 15,000 | 34,000 |
| Other Judges of High Court | 12,000 | 27,000 |
The Act further provides that the judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court are given an official residence without any rent. However, if the judges do not wish to use the given place of residence, then the judge will be given a monthly allowance of 24% of their salary.
This allowance will be increased to 27% of the salary if the dearness allowance reaches 25% and further increased to 30% if the dearness allowance crosses 50%.
Other allowances that are further added as per the commission are:
- Medical allowance i.e. improved medical facilities and reimbursement procedures. The medical facilities will also be extended to pensioners and family pensioners,
- Children education allowance,
- Home orderly allowance
- Transport allowance in lieu of pool car facility, and
- Proper maintenance of quarters
PENSION
- Judges are also given pension at 50% of the last earned salary,
- Family pension at 30% of the last earned salary and
- Quantum pension on completion of the age of 75 years.
- Further, the judges are also entitled to receive retirement and death gratuity. The Act has also increased the gratuity ceiling by 25% when the dearness allowance reaches 50%.
The maximum pension given to the judges as per the Act is elaborated in the table below.
Table 3: Maximum pension of judges (per annum)
Designation of Judge |
Present pension (in Rs.) |
Proposed pension (in Rs.) |
| Chief Justice of India | 6,00,000 | 16,80,000 |
| Other Judges of the Supreme Court | 5,40,000 | 15,00,000 |
| Chief Justice of High Court | 5,40,000 | 15,00,000 |
| Other Judges of High Court | 4,80,000 | 13,50,000 |
Other perks
In addition to the salary and allowances, the judges are also given many perks by the government, some of these perks are as follows:
- Residential landline and broadband allowances,
- Electricity and water charges
- Security guards, personal assistance and peon
- Quarter for these guards
- Conveyance
- Newspaper and magazine allowances
How are the judges appointed?
- The District judges are appointed by State Government.
- The High Court Judge is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and Governor of the concerned state.
- The Chief Justice of India and the Supreme Court Judges are appointed by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Conclusion
The judiciary is the backbone of the constitution and therefore to make it free from any influence and to reward for its immense contribution, it is granted a good salary with additional allowances and perks. The judges in the present year are given many facilities as compared to the judges in the 1980’s, the judges were not given any vehicles back then. However, the salaries and allowances are commendable now.
