Bill on two-fold salary hike of Supreme Court, High Court judges tabled in Lok Sabha

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha that allows for a two-fold hike in the salaries of judges in the Supreme Court and in all the High Courts across the country. If passed, the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2017 could increase the monthly salary of the Chief Justice of India from the present Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.8 lakh.

The bill, which will have a retrospective effect from January 2016 will benefit the 21 judges currently in the Supreme Court and over 682 judges in over 24 High Courts. The hike will also benefit over 2,500 retired judges.

Currently, SC judges and High Court chief justices draw Rs 90,000 per month. If the Bill comes into legislation, they will earn Rs 2.5 lakh per month. HC judges, who now earn Rs 80,000 will earn Rs 2,25,000 per month.

When Prasad introduced the bill in the House, Mahbubnagar MP Jithender Reddy took exception to the legislation and opposed it. "I oppose the introduction of the Bill. We have been fighting for the bifurcation of Telangana High Court," Reddy said.

Speaker M Thambidurai, however, said that for Reddy to oppose, he will need to file a note first.