Service Law

Judiciary-Conditions of Service-Setting up of all India Judicial Service-Uniform hierarchy and designations, age of Superannuation-Uniform pay scale and allowances Conveyance-In-service training-Partial modification of directions issued earlier.

Status of Judges Comparable with political executive and legislature-Not with administrative executive-Hence separate conditions of service for members of judicial service could be prescribed Not an encroachment on executive and legislative powers in the context of Art. 309 of the Constitution-Directions issued in furtherance of Law Commission's recommendations and Independence of judiciary Financial implication-Relevance of.

Constitution of Independent Commission for laying down service conditions for judicial officers-avoured

Constitution of India, 1950

Articles 312, 233, 234-Subordinate judiciary Conditions of service-Improvement of Directions Modification of

Articles 50, 14, 16, 309, 312, 233, 234 & 235-Judicial Service Nature of Not to be treated on par with administrative service-Status of Judges Comparable with political executive and legislators-Not with administrative executive-Prescription of separate conditions of service for the judicial service-Need for Conditions of service of Subordinate judiciary- Improvement of and formation of All India Judicial Service Whether amounts to encroachment on executive and legislative powers in view of Art. 309 to prescribe service conditions.

Articles 32 & 226-Writ Courts competent to issue directions to the

Executive and Legislature to perform their obligatory duties.

The Union of India and various States preferred the present Review Petitions raising objections to certain directions given by this Court in All India Judge's Association v. Union of India, [1991] Suppl.2 SCR 206 for improving the service conditions of the members of the subordinate judiciary in the country.

The thrust of the objections was that the power to prescribe service conditions rested in the executive and the legislature; that the service conditions being matters of policy, it was the exclusive function of the executive and the legislature, and the scheme of devolution of the power envisaged by the Constitution had been deviated from to the extent this Court has by its directions prescribed the conditions of service; that this Court impinged upon the field exclusively assigned by the Constitution to the executive and the legislature; that there was nothing distinguishable about the judicial work, and if the directions were followed, the other services may demand similar service conditions and that would place a very heavy financial burden on the public exchequer, and that the conditions of work and of employment of judicial officers differed from State to State and so uniform conditions of service, particularly of pay- scales and of retirement age were not warranted.

Disposing of the Review Petitions.