Supreme Court orders 'one rank one pension' principle for all retired HC judges

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said that the principle of One Rank One Pension (OROP) will apply to all retired high court judges, regardless of how they were recruited — whether from the district judiciary or from among advocates.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai said that all retired judges should receive a minimum pension of Rs 13.65 lakh per annum. The bench also included Justices A G Masih and K Vinod Chandran.

The apex court said, "We hold that any discrimination among judges for terminal benefits after retirement will be violative of Article 14. Thus, we hold all high court judges, irrespective of their date of appointment, will be entitled to full pension.

The court said giving a lower pension to judges who came from the district judiciary amounts to discrimination. It added that whether a judge was under the old pension scheme or the new pension scheme is not relevant for deciding pension benefits.

On the issue of provident fund (PF) denial to retired judges, the SC said, "Union shall follow the principle of One Rank One Pension for all judges, irrespective of their HCs."

The court also ruled on the issue of pension when a judge dies while still serving. The CJI said, "Union shall be gratuity to all family members of the HC judge who dies in harness; Union shall pay pension to the widow of the judge who dies in harness."

The Supreme Court bench issued a set of directions to the Union government on the pension entitlements of retired high court judges:

• A retired Chief Justice of a high court must be paid a full annual pension of Rs 15 lakh.
  
• All other retired high court judges, including those who retired as additional judges, must receive Rs 13.50 lakh annually as full pension.
  
• The Centre must apply the One Rank One Pension principle to all retired high court judges, regardless of whether they entered the judiciary through the district courts or from the legal profession , and irrespective of how long they served in either role.
  
• Judges who retired from the district judiciary and later served in a high court must receive full pension, even if there was a gap between their two appointments.
  
• If such judges had joined the district judiciary after the New Pension Scheme came into effect, they too must be given full pension. In such cases, state governments must return the entire amount contributed under NPS along with accrued returns.
  
• The Centre must also provide family pension to the widow or legal heirs of a high court judge who died while still in office, whether the judge was serving permanently or in an additional capacity.