In Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s).1022/1989-SC- SC directs all state govts to comply with its 2012 order for revising pensions of retired judges Justices L. Nagaswara Rao, B.R. Gavai & Aniruddha Bose[05-04-2022]

Read Order: ALL INDIA JUDGES ASSOCIATION & ORS v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS

Mansimran Kaur

New Delhi, April 8, 2022: An application seeking execution of a decade-old order passed by the Apex Court pertaining to revision of pensions of judges who retired after January, 1996 has been approved by the Supreme Court which also issued directions to all the States for speedy implementation of the same. 

The present application before the Apex Court was instituted by the All India Retired Judges Association, seeking the execution of an order dated October 8, 2012 of the Top Court. 

The Top Court in the said order had directed the pensions of the pensioner who retired on January 1, 1996 to be increased by 3.07 times in order to be at par with other pensioners.  

A three-judge Bench comprising Justice  L. Nagaswara Rao, Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Aniruddha Bose issued an order to all the States to execute the order dated October 8, 2012 and to submit a report within four weeks from the date of this order.

Brief facts of the case were that the applicant in its application complained about the lackadaisical approach followed by the Sated to bring into effect the order of October 8, 2012 of this Court. The application stated that the above-mentioned order is not implied to its fullest by some States and not at all implied by the rest of them.

The content of the order was pertaining to a surge of 3.07 times  in the pensions of the existing pensioners who had retired after January 1, 1996 and the pensioners whose pensions were consolidated in accordance with the Karnataka model in order to come at par with the other pensioners subject to minimum of 50 percent of the revised pay scale of their respective posts. 

The reliefs sought by the applicant are produced below:

“(i) the existing pensions of all past  pensioners who retired after 01.01.1996 and the pensioners whose pensions were consolidated as per Karnataka model shall be raised by 3.07 times on par with the other pensioners subject to minimum of 50% of the revised pay scale of pay of their respective post; (ii) and in the alternative, consolidation of the existing pensions of the above section of pensioners as per the methodology adopted by the Central Government in pursuance of the recommendations of the VIth Central Pay Commission in para 4.1 of the O.M.F.No.38/37/08 P & PW(A) Government of India dated 01.09.2008.”

The Counsel for the petitioner expressed his concerns on the unreasonable deferment of the States in executing the above stated order. It was also stated that some judges are nearly 90 years of age and it has been almost a decade since the issuance of the order. The Counsel, thus prayed for implementation of the order in accordance with the formula mentioned therein, as the same  calls for no more delay. 

The Apex Court condemned the inaction of the States on the same and issued directions to all the States to implement the order dated October 8, 2012 at earliest and directions were also issued to the States for submitting the compliance report within four weeks from the date of this order.