on Civil No 1022 of 1989
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India
Sri Ramulu ATM Sampath AK Srivastava and Raju Ramchandran for the Petitioners
Tapas Ray RN Sachthey PS Poti Yogeshwar Prasad VC Mahajan UN Bachswat AS Nambiar Kailash Vasudev Ms A Subhashini Hemantika Wahi Vasudata Talib Anip Sachthey TT Kunhikannan Ms Rachna Gupta Mrs section Dik shit Ms section Janani Ms Urmila Kapoor M Veerappa KH Nobin Singh Ashok Singh SK Agnihotri Aruneshwar Gupta KC Bajaj Ms Renu George K Chaudhary AS Bhasme HS Munjral GK Bansal R Mohan PK Manohar Ms section Vasude van B Parthasarthy V Krishnamurthy AK Panda JR Das DK Sinha DN 210 Mukherjee Gopal Singh P Chowdhary Indra Makwana and K Swamy for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by1 RANGANATH MISHRA CJ
This application under Article 32 of the Constitution is by the All India Judges Association and its working President for reliefs through directions for setting up of an All India Judicial Service and for bringing about uniform conditions of service for members of the subordinate judiciary throughout the country
Rule having been granted notice was issued to the Union of India and all the States and Union territories
Most of them have responded by making returns to the Rule
A few of the States have taken the stand that they would accept whatever this Court ultimately decides while others have placed their view points and yet some others have objected to the reliefs claimed
Mr Sri Ramulu Chairman of the All India Judges Asso ciation personally appeared at the hearing
Mr Raju Ram chandran on our request appeared to support the petition as amicus curiae
At the hearing the standing Counsel for the several states and Union Territories have also been heard
The plea for setting up of an All India Judicial Service was not seriously pressed and reliefs on the following heads were claimed 1
Uniformity in the Judicial cadres in the different States and Un ion Territories 2
An appropriate enhanced uniform age of retirement for the Judicial Officers throughout the country 3
Uniform pay scales as far as possible to be fixed 4
Residential accommodation to be provided to every Judicial Officer
Transport facility to be made available and conveyance allowance provided
Adequate perks by way of Library Allow ance Residential Office Allowance and Sump tuary Allowance to be provided
Provision for inservice training to be made
Administration of justice and orgamsation of courts was a provincial subject under the Government of India Act 1935
The Constitution adopted 211 the same scheme by providing in Entry 3 of List 11 of the Seventh Schedule the subject of administration of justice constitution and organisation of all courts excepting the Supreme Court and the High Courts as a State subject
It was only under the 42nd Amendment in 1977 that Entry 3 from List I1 was deleted and the subject as such was taken as Entry 11 A in the Concurrent List
This had become necessary on account of the recommendation of the Law Commission that an All India Judicial Service should be set up
Prior to independence the District Judge used to be invariably a Member of the Indian Civil Service and his position in the district was superior to that of the Dis trict Magistrate
This position continued until the Indian Civil Service came to be abolished around 1946 47
This long association of the Civil Service with the judicial manning had led to service conditions of both to be tied up
Crimi nal justice at that time was handled by Magistrates who belonged to the Executive
Under the Constitution the concept of Rule of Law came to be accepted and developed
Article 50 prescribed the guideline of separating the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State
This position is the outcome of recognition of the fact that the judiciary is a class separate from the executive
The control over the subordinate judiciary has been vested in the High Court and the administrative control has been construed to be complete and exclusive
Yet in certain aspects and particularly in regard to service conditions the distinction has not been maintained That is why very often when any specific aspect relating to conditions of service is taken up or benefits for judicial service is considered comparative basis between the two is adopted for review
It is high time that this aspect is appreciated and the administrative authorities remain alive to it
We shall first deal with the plea for setting up of an All India Judicial Service
The Law Commission of India in its 14th Report in the year 1953 said If we are to improve the personnel of the subordinate judiciary we must first take measures to extend or widen our field of selection so that we can draw from it really capable person
A radical measure suggested to us was to recruit the judicial service entire ly by a competitive test or examination
It was 212 suggested that the higher judiciary could be drawn from such competitive tests at the all India level and the lower judiciary can be recruited by similar tests held at State level
Those eligible for these tests would be graduates who have taken a law degree and the requirement of practice at the Bar should be done away with
Such a scheme it was urged would result in bringing into the subordinate judiciary capa ble young men who now prefer to obtain immedi ate remunerative employment in the executive branch of Government and in private commercial firms
The scheme it was pointed out would bring to the higher subordinate judiciary the best talent available in the country as a whole whereas the lower subordinate judiciary would be drawn from the best talent available in the Slate
The Commission proceeded to further state Recruitment to the higher judiciary at the all India level in the manner suggested would be a powerful unifying influence and serve to counteract the existing growing regional tendencies
In this connection attention may be drawn to the observations made by the States Reorganisation Commission in regard to the creation of the All India Services as a major compelling necessity for the nation
The Commission observed The raisondetre of creating All India Services individually or in groups is that officers on whom the brunt of responsibility of administration will inevitably fail may develop a wide and all India outlook 
The present emphasis on regional languages in the Universities will inevitably lead to the growth of parochial attitude which will only be corrected by a system of training which emphasises the all India point of view  
It has not been very easy for us to balance these consid erations but we are definitely of the view that proportion of the higher judiciary should be recruited by competitive examination at the all India level so as to attract the best of our young graduates to the judicial service
This measure will enlarge the field of selec tion and bring into file higher judicial service a leaven of brilliant young men who will set a higher tone and level to the subor dinate judiciary as a whole
The personnel so recruited will be subjected to  m intensive training
The rest of the higher judiciary should in our view be recruited in part directly from senior members of the Bar and partly by promotion from the lower subordinate judiciary
213 Dealing with the same subject from a different angle the Commission proceeded to say The great advantage that the Indian civilian had was the intensive and varied course of training which he had to undergo
At the time of his first entry into service his training was confined to matters pertaining to the revenue and criminal administration alone but when he was taken over to the judicial side generally an equally intensive training in civil law was given to him for a period of not less than eighteen months
There can be no doubt that a similar intensive judicial train ing given to a judicial officer who possesses a law degree can be of the greatest value  
Indeed it can be claimed that a planned and systematic training such as is contemplated by us for the judicial officer selected for the Indian Judicial Service may be more effective than the uncertain and spasmodic training which may be received during the course of a few years practice at the Bar
These and the other considerations referred to earlier have led us to the conclu sion that in the interests of the efficiency of the subordinate judiciary it is necessary that an All India Service called the Indian Judicial Service should be established
This will need action being taken in the manner provided by Article 312 of the Constitution
The Law Commission has reiterated this view in subse quent reports
It took nearly 20 years for the Government to take follow up action on the basis of the recommendation and that led to the amendment of the legislafive entries as already referred to
This proposal of the Law Commission and the follow up governmental action led to consultation and dialogue in the Conference of Chief Justices of the High Courts but many of the High Courts were of the view that setting up of an All India Judicial Service would affect the constitutional scheme of control of the High Courts over the subordinate judiciary and in particular Article 235 of the Constitution
Article 233 makes provision for appointment of District Judges and requires that appointment to such posts has to be made by the Governor of the State in consultation with the appropriate High Court
Article 234 provides for recruitment of persons other than District Judges to judicial service by prescribing that appointments shall be made by the Governor of the State in accordance with the Rules made by him in that behalf after consulting the State Public Service Com mission and the High Court exercising the jurisdiction in relation to such State
The post of District Judge has ordinarily been equated with the senior scale status in the All India Services
It was 214 perhaps not contemplated by the Law Commission that on appointment members of the proposed All India Judicial Service were to hold the post of District Judge
Like all other All India Services the initial recruitment could be to a lower rank equal to civil judge and after serving in such post for a reasonable time appointment to the post of Dis trict Judge could be made
Since the Law Commission itself was of the view that a percentage should be filled up by direct recruitment from the Bar the scheme envisaged by the Law Commission would not require amendment of Article 233
It is to be examined whether any alterations in Article 234 would be necessary or recruitment to All India Service could be made by appropriate amendment of the State Rules contem plated under that Article
Control over the subordinate courts under the constitu tional mechanism is vested in the High Court
Under Article 235 the provision is that the control over District Courts and courts subordinate thereto vests in the High Court
The main objection against implementation of the recommendation of the Law Commission relating to the setting up of the All India Judicial Service was founded upon the basis that control contemplated under Article 235 of the Constitution would be affected if an All India Judicial Service on the pattern of All India Services Act 1951 is created
We are of the view that the Law Commission s recommendation should not have been dropped lightly
There is considerable force and merit in the view expressed by the Law Commission
An All India Judicial Service essentially for manning the higher services in the subordinate judiciary is very much necessary
The reasons advanced by the Law Commission for recommending the setting up of an All India Judicial Service appeal to us
Since the setting up of such a service might require amendment of the relevant Articles of the Constitution and might even require alteration of the Service Rules operating in the different States and Union Territories we do not intend to give any particular direction on this score par ticularly when the point was not seriously pressed but we would commend to the Union of India to undertake appropriate exercise quickly so that the feasibility of implementation of the recommendations of the Law Commission may be examined expeditiously and implemented as early as possible
It is in the interest of the health of the judiciary
throughout the country that this should be done
II The Law Commission in the 14th Report also referred to the various designations provided for judicial officers working in the different States and Union Territories It observed 215 In view of the more or less uniform functions performed by the judicial officers so various ly designated it would we think be advisa ble to aim at a uniformity of designation
There is however a fundamental difference in the general scheme of distribution of judicial business between the tower grade of officers munsifs on the one hand and the higher grade of officers subordinate judges on the other
The first has limited pecuniary juris diction while the second generally speaking has unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction
We would therefore suggest that the State Judi cial Service Class II should consist of civil judges who should be designated as civil judges of the senior and junior divisions
Officers corresponding to munsifs would be designated as civil judges junior division and those corresponding to subordinate judges would be designated as civil judges senior division
If reference is made to Article 236 of the Constitution it would be noticed that the expression District Judge has been defined to include Judge of a City Civil Court Addi tional District Judge Joint District Judge Assistant District Judge Chief Judge of a Small Causes Court Chief Presidency Magistrate Additional Chief Presidency Magis trate Sessions Judge Additional Sessions Judge and Assist ant Sessions Judge
This definition in Article 236 covers the higher section of the State Judicial Service both in the civil and criminal sides
The definition is only inclusive and in implementing the recommendations of the Law Commis sion to simplify the designations by saying that the hierarchy of subordinate judicial officers would be District Judge or Additional District Judge below him Civil Judge Senior Division and below him Civil Judge junior divi sion does not go against the constitutional scheme nor does it require any amendment of the Constitution
If there be any laws operating in the States perhaps the same may have to be appropriately modified or altered if the uniformity recommended by the Law Commission has to work out
We are inclined to adopt the view of the Law Commission
On the civil side the State Judicial Service therefore should be classified as District or Additional District Judge Civil Judge senior division and Civil Judge Junior division
On the criminal side there should be a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge and below him there should be the Chief Judicial Magistrate and Magistrates provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure
Appropriate adjustments if any may be made of existing posts by indi cating their equivalence with any of these categories
The process of bringing about such uniformity would require some time 216 and perhaps some monitoring
We direct that the Ministry of Law and Justice of the Union Government would carry on the monitoring activity and all the States and Union Territories would follow the pattern indicated above by March 31 1993
III One of the issues debated at the hearing related to the age of retirement
The Constitution has fixed the age of retirement of Judges in the High Courts and the Supreme Court at 62 and 65 years respectively
There is no constitu tional prescription of the age of retirement of the members of the subordinate judiciary and in India that is controlled by the relevant rules obtaining in the different States and Union Territories and it is 58 years at present excepting in the State of Kerala where the age of superannuation is 55 years for all State Government employees including the members of the State Judicial Service
It is the claim of the petitioners that the age of retirement of the officers of the subordinate judiciary should be fixed at 60 years inasmuch as the basic qualifica tion for recruitment to the service requires every officer to have in the minimum a bachelors degree in law which is acquirable after becoming a graduate
Thus while for normal civil service a graduate is eligible for recruitment to the judicial service a minimum further period of three years becomes necessary to acquire the basic qualification
In many of the states and the Union Territories for recruit ment to the post in the judicial service a basic period of experience at the Bar is a pre requisite
Thus while for the civil service the age of recruitment varies between 25 and 28 years for judicial service at the basic level most of the States permit entry upto the age of 32
In some of the States where direct recruitment of judicial officers for an in between stage is permitted the age of entry is even upto 35 years
Article 2332 of the Constitution provides A person not already in service of the Union or of the State shall only be eligible to be appointed a District Judge if he has been for not less than seven years an advocate or a pleader and is recommended by the High Court for appointment
Keeping this constitutional requirement in view in respect of direct recruitment for District judge entrance is permitted upto a later age in many States
Thus at the point of entry into service there is a marked distinction between civil service and the judicial service
Notwithstanding these special features the history of the service 217 would show that no distinction has been maintained in regard to the age of retirement between officers of the civil service and the officers of the judicial service and over the years the same rule has been applied to both
This Court in Moti Ram Deka etc
vs The General Manager North East Frontier Railway Maligaon Pandu etc  pointed out In regard to the age of superannuation it may be said prima facie that rules of superan nuation which are prescribed in respect of public service in all modern States are based on considerations of life expectation mental capacity of the civil servants having regard to the climatic conditions under which they work and the nature of the work they do
They are not fixed on any ad hoc basis and do not involve the exercise of any discretion
They apply uniformity to all public servants fail ing under the category in respect of which they are framed    Nature of work is thus one of the considerations rele vant to fixing the age of retirement
There is a marked distinction between the nature of work which executive officers and judicial officers are called upon to discharge
The work of the judicial officers is usually sedantry while that of the executive officers in volves a lot of physical movement
This is particularly so in the lower cadres of both the services
In view of this feature physical fitness is more important for an executive officer than in case of a judicial officer while in case of judicial officers there is thus necessarily more of a mental activity than physical
Experience is an indispens able factor and subject to the basic physical fitness with growing age experience grows
As already indicated retirement age for High Court Judges is 62 years
A sizable portion of the manning in the High Court is done by elevating District Judges and those who are elevated continue upto the age of 62 years like directly elevated members of the Bar to the High Court
There are certain services in the States where retire ment is fixed at the age of 60 years taking into account the special type of work the officers are called upon to per form
For instance throughout the country teachers of universities are allowed to serve upto 60 years of age
Employees under some of the corporations also go upto the age of 60
Scientific Research Officers are also allowed in many cases the benefit of 60 years age of retirement
Mr Poti for the State of Kerala raised serious objection to raising 218 the age of retirement of judicial officers to a common level of 58 years by contending that this would lead to unrest in the other services of the State and everyone would press for the age of retirement being enhanced to 58
In fact Kerala had once experimented with the enhanced age for all and has reverted back to the age of 55
The main ground raised by Mr Poti to resist the proposal of enhancement is that in the State of Kerala the level of literacy is high and unem ployment is acute
If the age of retirement is enhanced the scope of the unemployed to get employment would be adversely affected
We are not impressed by the submission of Mr Poti on this score
The total number of judicial officers of every category in the State may not exceed 3000 or so
This certainly is not such a big number that might create unem ployment problem in the event of the age of superannuation being brought to the all India level of 58 or even enhanced to a higher limit
The Law Commission in its 14th Report dealt with this aspect at page 2 13 of the report and said There is yet another reason why the question of the age of retirement of the subordinate judiciary should be treated differently from that in other State Services
As noticed earlier a judicial officer enters service at a comparatively higher age than a recuit to the executive or administrative services
It would therefore be proper that the retire ment age of a judicial officer should be relatively higher than that of an executive officer so as to enable him to serve for the full number of years if he retains his fitness and capacity of work till he reaches such higher age
We therefore recommend that the retirement age of the subordinate judiciary in all States should be raised to 58 years
Such a measure will tend to raise the tone and morale of the judicial service as a whole
It will also be consistent with our recommendation to raise the age of retirement of High Court Judges to 65 years
 The recommendation that superannuation should be fixed at 58 for judicial officers was made at a time when in public services retirement was prescribed at the age of 55
Considering the enhancement of the longevity of human life and taking all other relevant considerations into account all the States and all the Union Territories have now en hanced the age of retirement to 58 years excepting as already pointed out in the case of the State of Kerala
We are of the view that on the logic which was adopted by the Law Commission and for the reasons which we have 219 indicated the age of retirement of judicial officers should be 60 years
We accordingly direct that appropriate altera tions shall be made in the Rules obtaining in the States and Union Territories in respect of judicial service so as to fix the age of retirement at 60 years with effect from December 31 1992
We have given a long period so that appropriate amendments may be made in the meantime
IV We shall now deal with the claim for appropriate pay scales and on as nearly as possible uniform basis
The 14th Report of the Law Commission dealt with this matter at page 163 of the report and said It is the matter of scales of pay and remu neration the judiciary compares unfavourably with the executive branches of the Government
It is true that generally speaking the scales of pay of the judicial officers and the corresponding executive officers are identical in many of the States
However it has to be remembered that the executive officers are by and large recruited at a much younger age than the judicial officers
The entrant to the judicial services is required to be a graduate in law and in most of the States it is also necessary that he should have practised for a certain number of years at the Bar
On the other hand for recruitment to the executive branches of Government service a degree in arts or science is generally speaking suffi cient
In the result a person entering the judicial service does so when he is about 26 or 27 years of age and at a time when his contemporaries who have entered the executive service of the Government have already ac quired a certain seniority in the service and have come to draw a higher salary
It will thus be seen that a person joining the judi cial service starts with a lower remuneration than what he would have received if he had entered the executive service for a few years earlier
It has also to be noted that owing to the lesser proportion of superior posts in the judicial service promotions come less quickly to the judicial officers and a person who has entered the service as a munsif assuming that he is fit and fully qualified takes much longer time to become a district judge than would an equally competent deputy collector to reach the position of a collector
Again the judicial officer having started at a later age has a shorter span of service than the executive officer and this affects his pension and other retirement benefits
220 We had called for the prevailing pay scales of the different judicial cadres in the States and the Union Terri tories and the same have been made available to us
We found that there is wide violence in the pay structure prevailing in the various States and Union Territories and for the same nature of work performed by the judicial officers they are remunerated differently
It is difficult for us on the data now placed to get into the exercise of fixing the appropri ate pay scales
We suffer a handicap in the absence of full details necessary for fixing the appropriate pay scales on comparative basis
Again we are apprehensing that if we enter into the matter and say something in a final way it is possible that in some States benefits which are now available may be taken away or adversely affect some offi cers
For these reasons we do not propose to finally exam ine the propriety of the existing pay scales nor do we direct any pay scales to be fixed
A Pay Commission for the Central Government employees was appointed about 8 years back and on the basis of its Report the revised benefits have been given effect to from January 1 1986
Following that pattern most of the States have either given the Central scales or appointed their own commissions or committees and given the revised benefits to their officers
It appears that with an interval of 10 years or so such a commission is being appointed and pay scales are being reviewed
Such an exercise is likely to be under taken within less than three or four years
We are of the view that the claim on this score can be better handled when the pay commissions or committees in the States are set up to review the position
We direct that as and when such commissions or committees are set up in the States and Union Territories hereafter they separately examine and review the pay structure of judicial officers keeping in view all relevant aspects
V Under this head however we would like to deal with the claim for various allowances
Unlike the administrative officer the judicial officer is obliged to work for long hours at home
When he reserves a judgment he has usually to prepare the same at his residence
For that purpose he has to read the records as also the judicial precedents cited by counsel for the adversaries
Even otherwise with a view to keeping himself uptodate about the legal position he has to read judgments of his own High Court other High Courts and of the Supreme Court
He has also to read legal journals
The judicial officer very often has no provision of an officer at his residence
Unless a reasonable allowance is provided for maintaining an office it became very difficult for him to undertake the various aspects 221 of the exercise referred to above
We are of the view that a residential office allowance should be admissible to every judicial officer
The same for the civil judge junior division and the civil judge senior division be fixed at the rate of Rs 250 per month and officers of the higher category the monthly allowance should be Rs 300
Law books Law repons and legal journals are indispens able to a judicial officer
They are in fact his tools and in case a junior officer has to discharge his duties satis factorily he has to get acquainted with these
His ability to perform his duty to a considerable extent depends upon his reading habit and devoting a sizeable working time to reading all this literature
Reading habit is indispensable to a judicial officer and possession of a small library of one s own helps generation of the proper reading habit
Law books and Law journals have in particular become very costly these days
One standard Law journal for the decisions of the High Court another for the decisions of this Court and one or two Standard Law journals on the average would cost about Rs 200 a month
There is no existing system of providing Law books and journals to the officers of the lower judiciary
Many of the judicial officers in the lower ranks have their working places away from the district headquarters where the seat of the district judge is located
There is perhaps at every district headquarter a small library but the number of books is small and more than one copy of many of the books would not be available
Therefore whether it is at the district headquarter or in areas away therefrom effective library facility is not available
We are of the view that a uniform pattern of small library should be provided to every judi cial officer
We accordingly direct that such a library shall be made available by 3062992 to every judicial officer and the District Judge should have provision made in his budget for the said residential library for every judi cial officer under his control
The High Court should moni tor this aspect effectively so that without loss of time a handy library may be at the disposal of every judicial officer
The District Judge is the principal judicial officer of the district
Ordinarily every revenue district has a dis trict judge and his seat is located at the headquarter
In heavy stations the district judge has a team of additional district judges to assist him
There would also be a number of judicial officers of lower categories working at the headquarters
It is the obligation of the district judge to operate as the captain of the team both under his direct supervision at the headquaters and in respect of the offi cers located in different areas within his district
Of late lower or subordinate courts are being established in the outlying and rural interior
It is the 222 obligation of the district judge to inspect the outlying courts maintain the proper judicial tempo and temper of functioning in his district and be responsible for the efficient running of the system
In many of the States the prevailing practice is that the district judge takes a monthly meeting with the collec tor and district magistrate and the superintendent of po lice
He also meets the members of the Bar
Now and then he meets his judicial officers those at the headquarters as also the others who are in the interior
It is desirable that the district judge devotes some time as frequently as possible and at least once a week to meet the judicial officers beyond the working hours discusses working prob lems of his officers and forms his own opinion about now the work is being done
A weekly assessment of such perform ance generates even temper of judicial activity and upholds the tempo being maintained at the appropriate level
There is not yet any definite system of judicial training in most of the States and Union Territories
A judicial officer with his first posting or until he acquires adequate experience requires guidance
It should ultimately be the obligation of the district judge to provide the same we are of the view that to the post of district judge a monthly allowance of Rs 300 by way of sumptuary allowance should be available to enable him to extend small courtesies at such meetings
The chief judicial magistrate does some of these activities in respect of the magistrates handling criminal work
In our opinion he should be entitled to a sum of Rs 200 per month by way of sumptuary allowance
We are aware of the fact that under the conditions of Service Act of High Court Judges a sumptuary allowance of Rs 300 is payable to them every month
Now that we have directed that Rs 300 should be fixed for the district judges we command that the sumptuary allowance fixed for the High Court Judges may be enhanced suitably
These allowances shall be payable from 141992
We would like to add that this allowance is intended for utilisation to the full extent for entertaining judicial officers in connection with preformance of duty and would not be considered as a perk for being included in the hands of the recipient as his income
VI Provision of an official residence for every judicial officer should be made mandatory
A judicial officer to work in a manner expected of him has to free himself from undue obligations of others particularly owners of buildings within his jurisdiction who ordinarily may have litigations before him
This is mostly the case in rural areas where outstation judicial courts are located
We are aware of cases where a rural court is located in the building belong ing to a lawyer or a client
Even the residential accom 223 modation of the judicial officer belongs to people of that category
Such a situation often gives occasion to personal embarrassment to the judicial officer and it has to be avoided
Expenditure on residential accommodation in a family budget is not ordinarily to exceed 15 per cent of the month ly income otherwise it becomes difficult for the person concerned to make his two ends meet
A judicial officer who is not provided residential accommodation is obliged to go in for rented accommodation
In view of the prevailing rate of rent the smallest accommodation that can be taken may often cost 75 per cent to 100 per cent of the monthly sal ary a situation which cannot be contenanced by any logic
It is absolutely necessary that appropriate conditions should be provided for the judicial officer and he should have reasonable mental peace in order that he may perform his duties satisfactorily
Rendering justice is a difficult job
It is actually a divine act
Unless the judicial offi cer has a reasonable worry free mental condition it would be difficult to expect unsoiled justice from his hands
Very often building projects are undertaken for provid ing residential accommodation to public officers but the requirement of the judicial ofricer is not taken into ac count for one reason or the other
Control of the State purse is in the hands of the executive
As appropriate share of construction expenses is not being provided towards accommodation of judicial officers they do not have any quota in the building projects
As a result of this over the years at several places throughout the country residential accommodation for judicial officers has turned out to be scanty
Many judicial officers dread postings in Metropoli tan towns as residential accommodation is not available and the rental would be exorbitant in respect of private accom modation
The cost of living also becomes heavy
We take judicial notice of the fact that the Planning Commission of the Central Government is considering accept ance of the subordinate judiciary as a plan subject
Provid ing adequate residential accommodation should be considered as a priority
Until adequate government accommodation is available it should be the obligation of the State at the instance of the High Court to provide requisitioned accommo dation for every judicial officer according to his entitle ment and recovery of not more than twelve and a half per cent of salary of the officer towards rent should be made and the balance should be met by the State Exchequer
We would emphasise the need of provision of a separate and exclusive office room as an indispensable component of every such official residence and the accommodation should take into account this feature
As a long term measure Govern ment accommodation should be constructed to meet the 224 need of the judicial officers at their respective stations
This should be a matter for the Planning Commission to review and the State Governments to cooperate and undertake construction activity
The Governments of the States and the Union Territories would take some time to implement this pan of the direction
In case for some reason the Planning Commission does not come forward to take up the matter before January 1992 the Chief Justice of every High Court should set up a committee with him as Chairman where two senior Judges of the Court and the Secretaries of Finance Law and Works should be members and annual planning of construction of residences should be made
We accordingly fix the outer limit of December 311992 when this part of the direction would become fully operative
VII We shall now deal with the claim for transport
In most of the States the district judge has been provided a motor car and in some of the States the chief judicial magistrate is also provided with such transport be it a car or a jeep
There are still some States like Rajasthan Haryana and Madhya Pradesh where provision of a car for every district judge has not yet been made
We direct that every district judge should be provided with a car by March 31 1992 and it shall be the obligation of the other States where such facility has not open provided to ensure the same within the time limit
The chief judicial magistrate is a touring officer apart from doing trial work as a magistrate
Mandate of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires him to undertake some tout ing
The quality of criminal justice administration would very much depend upon the mobility of the chief judicial magistrate
We therefore direct that in such States and Union Territories where provision of independent transport for the chief judicial magistrate has not been made the same should be done by September 30 1992
We are
further of the view that in stations with more than four judicial officers a common transport should be provided for the purpose of taking them from the residence to the court and back and meeting their other official purposes and such vehicle should be placed under the control of the seniormost officer in the pool
The arrangement should be that for every five officers there should be a vehicle
Provision for this aspect should be made by March 31 1993
This direction has become necessary as judicial officers should not be forced to travel along with litigants and lawyers
In many sensitive cases records are carried by them
Often judgments to be pronounced are also taken by them
In some disturbed areas instances of harassment to judicial offi cers taking advantage of their using 225 common transport have come to light
We direct that every State and Union Territory would file a compliance report in the Registry of this Court in respect of these three aspects within one month from the expiry of the outer limit indicat ed for each of them
There are several outlying courts where the number of officers would not be more than five
We do not intend to provide any independent transport for them but such officers who ask for loan for purchase of a two wheeler automobile should immediately be provided the same
Appropriate funds should be made available for such purpose
A pool car should have 60 litres of petrol per month and a judicial officer owing a scooter would be entitled to an allowance of Rs 200 per month
We are alive to the fact that our directions involve a burden on the State Exchequer
Perhaps some justification as to why these expenses should not be grudged must now be indicated
Professor Pannick in his book entitled Judges has observed Judges do not have an easy job
They repeat edly do what the rest of us seek to avoid make decisions
He further added Judges are mere mortals but they are asked to perform a function that is utterly divine
Professor Harold Laski once wrote to Justice Oliver Holmes that he wished that people could be persuaded to realise that judges are human beings it would be a real help to jurisprudence 
The Trial Judge  is the kingpin in the hierachical system of administration of Justice
He directly comes in contact with the litigant during the proceedings in Court
On him lies the responsibility of building up of the case appropriately and on his understanding of the matter the cause of justice is first answered
The personality knowl edge judicial restraint capacity to maintain dignity are the additional aspects which go into making the court s functioning successful
Krishna Iyer J described the scene very graphically thus Law is a means to an end and justice is that end
But in actuality Law and Justice are distant neighbours sometimes even strange hostiles
If law shoots down justice the people shoot down law and lawlessness paraly ses development dis 226 rupts order and retards progress
This is the current scene
It calls for serious introspection
The Law Commission in its 14th Report said If the public is to give profound respect to the judges the judges should by their conduct try and observe it not by word or deed should they give cause for the people that they do not deserve the pedestal on which we expect the public to place them
It appears to us that not only for the performance of his duties but outside the court as well a Judge has to maintain an aloofness amounting almost to self imposed isolation
The Commission quoted Sir Winston Churchill who had said A form of life and conduct far more severe and restricted than that of ordinary people is required from judges and though unwritten has been most strictly observed
They are at once privileged and restricted they have to present a continuous aspect of dignity and conduct
These prescriptions for a Judicial Officer therefore result in a restricted life
Austerity is a quality to be practised by every Judge personally as also in his public functioning
This necessarily gives rise to a situation where the Judge must have patience perseverance and pains taking habits
In order that a Judge may be able to put in these aspects into his public functioning it is absolutely necessary that the Judge enjoys freedom from personal wor ries
A reasonable salary appropriate allowances and man ageable living conditions are therefore required to be provided
For quite a few years the conditions of service of Judges of the superior Courts and those of the public offi cers in the Executive side had been put at par excepting such provisions as were contained in the Government of India Act 1935 or under the Constitution
For the first time it was accepted that separate Conditions of Service should be provided and Conditions of Service Acts for the High Court and Supreme Court Judges were separately enacted in 1954
Those statutes and the Schedules therein even now contain provisions to the effect that matters for which provisions have not been made by the statutes are to continue to be the same as provided for the officers in the Executive wing as named
In a democratic polity the role of the judiciary is indispensable
The efficient functioning of the Rule of Law under the aegis of which our democratic society can thrive requires an efficient strong and enlightened judiciary
And to have it that way the Nation has to pay to the price
There was a time when a 227 Judge enjoyed a high status in Society
Very often a suc cessful Member of the Bar earning a high income favourably responded to the invitation of the Chief Justice to accept Judgeship
Thai no more is the position
The sense of pro fessional obligation has died down for reasons more than one but perhaps the most eloquent one is loss of social status of the judge
The effect of this position in respect of the higher judiciary has its impact on the subordinate judiciary too
Half a century back a Judicial officer even of the lowest category enjoyed great social status
He was looked upon with a sense of reverence
He led a life in tune with the recommendations of the Law Commission in its 14th Report
He had the training of limiting his wants and man aged to live a contented life by making his two ends meet with limited resources of small salary
That philosophy of life has vanished or is fast vanishing
A great social change has over taken today s society
Life has become competitive demands of life have increased and aptitudes have changed
Therefore today a judicial officer always looks at life in a comparative way with administrative officers of his age
Professional income at the Bar has tremendoulsy swelled up
Very often counsel s fee per day equals to the salary of a judicial officer for a full month or even a longer period
This great disparity affects peace and equilibrium in the judicial operation
As early as 1958 the Law Commission said As we shall point out later the problem has since grown in dimension because there is unmistakable testimony that the standards of the judicial officers recruited from the Bar and other sources have during recent years fallen in a substantial degree for various reasons
This has been almost the unique view expressed by the witnesses before us
It is thus obvious that no scheme of review of judicial administration will be effective or worthwhile unless the basic problem of provid ing a trained and capable judicial personnel is satisfactorily solved This was adequate and timely notice to the Government and its people
Instead of attending to the problem then 33 long years have been allowed to roll by and what was then said as a growing dimension has grown to devalue the system
Its resurrection has therefore become more costly
It is perhaps useful to recall here the prophetic warn ing sounded by Robert Ingersoll A government founded on anything except liberty and justice cannot stand
All the wrecks on either side of the stream of time all the wrecks of the great cities and all the nations that 228 have passed away all are a warning that no nation founded upon injustice can stand
From the sand enshrouded Egypt from the marble wilderness of Athens and from every fallen or crumbling stone of the once mighty Rome comes a wail as it were the cry that no nation founded on injustice can permanently stand
Society therefore must understand the problem
Solu tion to the problem would depend upon realisation of the fact that the more capable people at the Bar are not willing to accept offers of judicial appointments
The plea that the other wings in the States would demand inprovement in their scales of pay is not a relevant feature at all when the problem is viewed from this angle
We hope and trust that society would generate the appropriate understanding of the matter and no Government would come forward to take the stand that if the pay scales and perks of the Judicial officers are improved similar demands would come from other wings of Government
Even in the existing system there are some posts which carry special pay that is on account of the fact that there is more of basic equipment demanded and the nature of work is different and judicial service satisfies both and there fore Government can always prescribe a higher pay scale for Judicial Officers
In 1986 there was a Conference of the Chief Justices of the High Courts Chief Ministers and the Law Ministers of the States called by the then learned Chief Justice of India and the Ministry of Law and Justice
The then Chief Justice of India and the Law Minister of the Central Government tried their best to make the State Governments and the Union Territories understand the basic problem
While some improvements came as a result of the Conference for the higher judiciary the claim of the subor dinate judiciary remained unattended
We would like to point out that dispensation of justice is an inevitable feature in any civilised society
Mainte nance of law and order require the presence of an efficient system of administration of criminal justice
Under the Civil Code Court fee is realised under the Court Fee Act
For some time demand to abolish it has been made but the States have abandoned the idea on account of the demand by the States of compensation from the Centre in case of aboli tion of Court fee
Court fee is not a tax and is a fee as has been  held by a Constitution Bench of this Court in Secretary Government of Madras Home Department and another vs Zenith Lamps and Electrical Ltd  In Paragraph 29 of this 229 Judgment Sikri CJ speaking for this Court pointed out It seems to us that the separate mention of fees taken in Court  in the Entries referred to above has no other significance than that they logically come under Entries dealing with administration of Justice and courts
The draftsman has followed the scheme designed in the Court Fees Act 1870 or dealing with fees taken in court at one place
If it was the intention to distinguish them from fees in List II Entry 66 surely some indication would have been given by the language employed
If these words had not been separately mentioned in List I Entry 77 and List II   
It seems plain that fees taken in court  are not taxes for if it were so the word taxes  would have been used or some other indication given
It seems to us that this conclusion is strengthened by two considerations
First taxes that can be levied by the Union are mentioned in List I from Entry 82 mentioned in List II taxes that can be imposed start from Entry 45
Secondly the very use of the words not including fees taken in any court  in Entry 95 List 1 and Entry 66 List II shows that they would otherwise have fallen within these Entries
It follows that fees taken in court  cannot be equated to Taxes
If this is so is there any essential differ ence between fees taken in court and other fees  We are unable to appreciate why the word fees bears a different meaning in Entry 77 List I and Entry 96 List I or Entry 3 List II and Entry 66 List II
All these relevant cases on the nature of fees  were reviewed in India Mica and Micanite Industries Ltd vs The State of Bihar
 at page 1186 by Hegde J and he observed From the above discussion it is clear that before any levy can be upheld as a fee it must be shown that the levy has reasonable co relationship with the services rendered by the Government
In other words the levy must be proved to be a quid pro quo for the serv ices rendered
But in these matters it will be impossible to have an exact co relationship
The correlationship expected is one of a general character and not as of arithmetical exactitude
It is not our intention to raise a dispute on this aspect
We adverted to these authorities and the views of this Court to bring support for the view that what is col lected as Court fee at least be spent on the administration of Justice instead of being utilised as a source of general revenue 230 of the States
Undobutedly the income from court fees is more than the expenditure on the administration of Justice
This is conspicuously noticeable from the figures available in the publication in the Ministry of Law and Justice
What we have said above should be adequate justification for making provision with a view to making judicial func tioning viable
We would like to recall a part of the funeral oration on Mr Justice Story delivered some 150 years back by Daniel Webster Justice Sir is the greatest interest of man on earth
It is the ligament which holds civilised beings and civilised nations togeth er
Wherever her temple stands and so long as it is duly honoured there is a foundation for social security general happiness and the improvement and progress of our race
And whoever labours on this edifice with useful ness and distinction
whoever clears its foundations strengthens its pillars adorns its entaplateures or contributes to raise its august dome still higher in the skies con nects himself in name and frame and character with that which is and must be as durable as the frame of human society
To those who control the purse what Webster said should provide the direction
VIII One of the claims advanced before us was for provision of inservice training for judicial officers
This we consid er as a must
In fact the Law Commision in one of its recent reports has advised that inservice institutes should be immediately set up
About a year back the Union Govern ment had proposed the setting up of an All India Inservice Institute but nothing more has been done about it
In some of the States like Uttar Pardesh and Andhra Pradesh such inservice institutes are functioning
We are of the view mat in service institutes are indispensable for the upkeep of the efficiency of judicial service
We direct that an All India institute of Inservice Training for higher officers of the judiciary including the district judges and a State level institute for training of the other member of the subordinate judiciary within each of the States and Union Territories or one common institute for more than one State or Union Territory should be set up within one year from now and at any rate nor later than December 31 1992
This has to be orgainised by respective High Courts
231 Before we part we must indicate with all the emphasis at our command that the system has to be saved as for a civilised society an enlightened independent judiciary is totally indispensable
The High Court must take greater interest in the proper functioning of the subordinate judi ciary
Inspection should not be a matter of casual atten tion
The Constitution has vested the control of the subor dinate judiciary under Article 235 in the High Court as a whole and not its Chief Justice alone
Every Judge should therefore take adequate interest in the institution which is placed under the control of the High Court
We may point out that that in what Lord Aktins said in Devi Prasad Sharma and others vs The King Emperor 70 IA 216
And it has been approved by a Constitution Bench in Baradakanta Misra vs The Registrar of Orissa High Court and Another  It should be remembered by all Judges of the High Coart viz that the administrative control of the subordinate courts of the states vest nor in the Chief Justice alone but in the Court over which the Chief Justice presides
Surger CJ of the American Supreme Court once said A sense of confidence in he Courts is essen tial to maintain the fabric of ordered liberty for a free people and it is for the subordi nate Judiciary by its action and the High Court by its appropriate control to ensure it
It is useful to remember what President Lin coln often said If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens you can never regain their respect and esteem
It is time we mention about society s expectation from the Judicial Officers
A judge ought to be wise enough to know that he is fallible and therefore even ready to learn and be courageous enough to acknowledge his errors The conduct of every judicial officer should be above reproach
He should be conscientious studious thorough courteous patient punctual just impartial fearless of public clamor regardless of public praise and indifferent to private political or partisan influences he should administer justice according to law and deal with his appointment as a public trust he should not allow other affairs or his private interests to interfere with the prompt and proper performance of his judicial duties nor should he administer the office for the purpose of advancing his personal ambitions or increasing his popularity
232 We would like to part with the matter by recalling a statement of Edmund Burke All persons possessing a portion of power ought to be strongly and awfully impressed with an idea that they act in trust and that they are to account for their conduct in that trust to the one great Master Author and Founder of Society
We would now briefly indicate the direc tions we have given in the judgment i An All India Judicial Service should be set up and the Union of India should take appropriate steps in this regard
ii Steps should be taken to bring about uniformity in designation officers both in civil and the criminal side by 3131993
iii Retirement age of judicial officers be raised to 60 years and appropriate steps are to be taken by 3112
iv As and when the Pay CommissionsCommit tees are set up in the States and Union Terri tories the question of appropriate pay scales of judicial officers be specifically referred and considered
v A working library at the residence of every judicial officer has to be provided by 3061992
Provision for sumptuary allowance as stated has to be made
vi Residential accommodation to every judicial officer has to be provided and until State accommodation is available Government should provide requisitioned accommodation for them in the manner indicated by 31121992
In providing residential accommodation avail ability of an office room should be kept m view
vii Every District Judge and Chief Judi cial Magistrate should have a State Vehicle Judicial officers in sets of 5 should have a pool vehicle and others would be entitled to suitable loans to acquire two wheeler automo biles within different time limits as speci fied
viiiInservice Institute should be set up within one year at the Central and State or Union Territory level
VPR Petition disposed of


Summary:
A notification us41 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 was issued for acquisition of the questioned lands along with some other lands for the purpose of development of the town
On 17980 the same was quashed
In 1985 another similar notification was issued us 41 of the Act for acquisition of the same lands for the Scheme No23 framed under Madhya Pradesh Nagar Tatha Gram Nivesh Adhiniyam 1973
The respondents challenged the notification before the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution
The High Court allowed the writ petitions annulling the notification and holding that the Scheme No23 did not operate against certain specified lands of the respondents
It also found that the statutory requirements for completing the scheme were not complied with and therefore no action for acquisition under the Scheme could be taken
These appeals were filed by the Development Authority against the High Court judgments by special leave
Disposing of the appeals this Court HELD 1
The pre conditions had not been complied with strictly under the statutory provisions
The High Court has not found any malafides
The Development Authority in ques tion consisted of only one person
His own order was perhaps taken by him and the gov 248 ernmental authorities as the requisite resolution
The respondents did not take the ground that there was no valid authority behind the scheme
249 E F 2
The huge patch of land has been substantially improved upon under the scheme
Cancellation of the notifi cation does not bring the matter to an end
Obviously fresh proceedings would be taken after complying with the defect if the judgment of the High Court is allowed to stand
If the acquisition is not made the respondents should enjoy usual benefits of their land on account of the development of the neighbouring area and if the re acquisition is not made there would be claim for higher compensation
249 G250 A 3
It is directed that the acquisition remain to subject to the condition that the notification under sec tion 41 of the Act issued in 1985 shall be deemed to be one dated 1188 and the market value of the land for the acquisition shall be determined with reference to that date and that as the deemed date of the notification under sec tion 41 to be postponed by almost three years and during this period since the appellant has brought about the bulk of the improvements in the neighbourhood 25 per cent of the potential value of the land relatable to the improvements made by the appellant would only be available to the re spondents but in fixing market value all other legitimate considerations shall be taken into account
There is no intention to extend the benefit under section 28 of the Act to the owners of the lands already acquired under the noti fication of 1980 or 1985 on the basis of court s direction that the respondents  lands shall be deemed to have been notified under section 41 of the Act on 111988
250 B D