Supreme Court Upholds Equality for High Court Judges

The Supreme Court of India ruled that high court judges, regardless of their recruitment source, should receive equal benefits. This decision ensures judges elevated from the district judiciary and those from the bar receive the same pension and salaries. The court emphasized financial independence as crucial for judicial integrity.

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of India has affirmed that high court judges recruited from the district judiciary are to receive the same benefits, including pensions, as their counterparts elevated from the bar.

A bench, including Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, declared that the appointment source for high court judges does not affect their entitlement to benefits, as they all form a 'homogenous class' once appointed.

Highlighting the essential nature of financial independence for maintaining judicial independence, the court emphasized that any discrimination regarding judges' salaries or benefits would oppose this sense of uniformity, which is recognized constitutionally.

(With inputs from agencies.)