NEW DELHI, Aug 27: In a rare sight, chief secretaries and finance secretaries of 18 states and union territories (UT) personally appeared before the Supreme Court on Tuesday to apprise it of whether they have complied with the Second National Judicial Pay Commission’s (SNJPC) recommendations on payment of salary, pension arrears and retirement benefits to judicial officers.
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The top bureaucrats also sought exemption from personal appearance in future which was granted.
The apex court was hearing a plea of the All India Judges Association (AIJA) on implementation of welfare and other measures for former judges and judicial officers.
“We have no pleasure in calling the chief and finance secretaries of the states, but consistently the counsel of states have been absent during the hearings,” a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said when senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for West Bengal, spoke about the state’s compliance with the SC judgement and directions.
In a spectacle of sorts, the chief secretaries and finance secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, Haryana and Odisha appeared in the CJI’s courtroom and were seen assisting their lawyers.
Some chief secretaries tried until as late as August 22 to avoid personal appearance by rushing to the court through their lawyers, saying they have substantially complied with the directions and pleading to be allowed to appear virtually. The bench, however, did not relent and said it cannot make exception for a few bureaucrats.
“I can see there is no substantive compliance. They will have to personally appear before us or we will issue non-bailable warrants (NBW) against them,” the CJI had warned on August 22.
On Tuesday, the bench was satisfied with the compliance of its January 4 judgement and earlier directions by the 18 states and UTs and closed the proceedings.
It said the top bureaucrats need not appear physically anymore. (PTI)
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