The Supreme Court has held that the independence of district judiciary is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and judicial independence from the executive and the legislature requires the judiciary to have a say in matters of finances.
“The independence of the district judiciary must also be equally a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Without impartial and independent judges in the district judiciary, justice, a preambular goal, would remain illusory. The district judiciary is, in most cases, also the court which is most accessible to the litigant,” a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices V. Ramasubramanian and P.S. Narasimha observed in a judgment.
The judgment, based on a petition filed by the All India Judges Association, gave a series of directions to amend the service rules of the district judiciary and for payment of arrears of pension, additional pension, gratuity and other retiral benefits.
The directions were based on the recommendations made in the report of the court-appointed Second National Judicial Pay Commission headed by Justice P.V. Reddi (retired) as its chairman with senior advocate R. Basant as its member.
Crucial role
The judgment records the crucial role played by the district judiciary in the justice administration system by recording the submissions made by its amicus curiae, advocate K. Parameshwar, that “on a single day, the district judiciary handled nearly 11.3 lakh cases”.
“Even during the period of the pandemic, the district judiciary was efficient and undertook its functions to ensure that justice was delivered in a timely manner. It is thus important to recognise that the district judiciary is a vital part of the independent judicial system, which is, in turn, part of the basic structure of the Constitution,” Justice Narasimha held.
Justice Narasimha said the district judiciary was the backbone of the judicial system. “Vital to the judicial system is the independence of the judicial officers serving in the district judiciary. To secure their impartiality, it is important to ensure their financial security and economic independence,” the apex court noted.
The judgment highlighted the doctrine that the “judiciary must possess the inherent power to compel payment of those sums of money which are reasonable and necessary to carry out its mandated responsibilities, and its powers and duties to administer justice”.
“This doctrine is only the logical conclusion of separation of powers and ensures that the independence of the judiciary is secured,” the court said.
