November 06, 2008
Judges in India are pretty powerful but now they want more power and status. NDTV has learnt that the Chief Justice of India (CJI) has written to the Law Minister asking for a pay hike to keep up with bureaucrats after the Sixth Pay Commission.
It seems that the issue goes far beyond money.
The four-page letter written by the Chief Justice of India has created a flutter. Implementation of his request will first need the Cabinet’s approval and then the Parliament’s sanction.
The controversy is not about them wanting more money. The government doesn’t know what to do with the CJI’s request to bring his pay at par with the Governor’s scale.
Before the Sixth Pay Commission, the Chief Justice of India’s basic salary at Rs 33 thousand was on par with the Cabinet Secretary and Rs three thousand less than the Governor’s pay. Now the Chief Justice wants his salary to be hiked to Rs 1.1 lakh the same as the Governor.
The Chief Justice also wants a hike for other judges. Rs 1 lakh for Supreme Court colleagues and Rs 90,000 for High Court judges. That’s the salary of the Cabinet Secretary– India’s top bureaucrat.
Will the government agree?
Source: http://www.ndtv.com/
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