An Act to regulate 1[salaries and certain conditions of service] of the Judges of the Supreme Court. BE it enacted by Parliament in the Ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows:--
This Act may be called the Supreme Court Judges 1[(Salaries and Conditions ofService)] Act, 1958.
| 19-03-2018 | THE SUPREME COURT JUDGES RULES, 1959 (AS ON 10.05.2019) | |
| 10-07-2018 | THE SUPREME COURT JUDGES (TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE) RULES 1959 |
| 27-01-2018 | THE HIGH COURT AND SUPREME COURT JUDGES (SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) AMENDMENT ACT, 2018 | |
| 19-03-2018 | Revision of Furnishing Allowance of Supreme Court Judges | |
| 10-07-2018 | Revision of Travelling Allowance of Supreme Court Judges |
| 12-04-2018 | Revision of pension/family pension of pre-2016 retired Judges of High Courts and Supreme Court. |
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,u2015
(a) u201cacting Chief Justiceu201d means a Judge appointed under article 126 of the Constitution toperform the duties of the Chief Justice of India;
(b) u201cactual serviceu201d includesu2015
(i) time spent by a Judge on duty as a Judge, or in the performance of such other functionsas he may, at the request of the President, undertake to discharge; and
(ii) vacations;
(c) u201cChief Justiceu201d means the Chief Justice of India, but does not include an acting ChiefJustice;
(d) u201cHigh Courtu201d means the High Court for a State;
(e) u201cJudgeu201d means a Judge of the Supreme Court and includes the Chief Justice and an actingChief Justice;
(f) u201cprescribedu201d means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(g) u201cservice as a Judge in Indiau201d means service rendered 1[in the Supreme Court] and in oneor more of the High Courts, and u201cJudge in Indiau201d and u201cservice for pension as a Judge in Indiau201dshall be construed accordingly;
(h) u201cservice for pensionu201d includesu2015
(i) actual service;
(ii) time spent by a Judge of a High Court in attending the sittings of the Supreme Courtas an ad hoc Judge under article 127 of the Constitution, if he is subsequently appointed as aJudge:
2[(iii) the amount, actually taken, of each period of leave on full allowances at a rate equalto the monthly rate of the salary;]
(i) u201cvacationu201d means such period or periods during a year as may be fixed as vacation by orunder the rules of the Supreme Court made with the prior approval of the President.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, leave grantedto a Judge may be at his option eitheru2015
1[(a) leave on full allowances (including commuted leave on half allowances into leave on fullallowances on medical certificate); or]
(b) leave on half allowances; or
(c) leave partly on full allowances and partly on half allowances.
(2) For the purposes of this Chapter, any period of leave on full allowances shall be reckoned asdouble that period of leave on half allowances.
2[(3) For the purposes of this Chapter, casual leave may be admissible to a Judge in a calendaryear, for such number of days and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.]
(1) A leave account shall be kept for eachJudge showing therein the amount of leave due to him in terms of leave on half allowances.
(2) In the leave account of a Judgeu2015
(a) there shall be credited to himu2015
(i) one-fourth of the time spent by him on actual service; 1
(ii) where the Judge, by reason of his having been detained for the performance of dutiesnot connected with the Supreme Court, cannot enjoy any vacation which he would otherwisehave been entitled to enjoy had he not been so detained, as compensation for the vacation notenjoyed, a period equal to double the period by which the vacation enjoyed by him in anyyear falls short of one month;
2[(iii) where the Judge was, prior to his appointment as such, a Judge of a High Court, theperiod of leave earned by him as a Judge of the High Court, 3; and]
(b) there shall be debited to him all leave with allowances taken by him.
(3) This section shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of May, 1958.
1[4A. Leave encashment.u2015A Judge shall be entitled in his entire service, including the period ofservice rendered either as a Judge of a High Court or in a pensionable post under the Union or a Stateor on re-employment, if any, to claim the cash equivalent of leave salary on his retirement2[in respectof the period of leave at his credit, calculated on full allowances basis,] to the extent of the maximumperiod prescribed for encashment of such leave under the All India Service (Leave) Rules, 1955.]
(1) The aggregate amount of leavewhich may be granted to a Judge during the whole period of his service as such shall not exceed interms of leave on half allowances three years 1[including the period credited to his leave accountunder sub-section (2) (a) (iii) of section 4 as leave earned by him as a Judge of a High Court] togetherwith the aggregate of the periods, if any, credited to his leave account under sub-section (2) (a) (ii) ofsection 4 as compensation for vacation not enjoyed.
(2) The aggregate amount of leave on full allowances which may be granted to a Judge during thewhole period of his service as such shall not exceed one-twenty-fourth of the period spent by him onactual service together with one-half of the aggregate periods, if any, 2[credited to his leave accountu2015
(a) under sub-section (2) (a) (ii) of section 4 as compensation for vacation not enjoyed, and
(b) under sub-section (2) (a) (iii) of section 4 as leave earned by him as a Judge of a HighCourt.]
(3) 3[Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 5A, the maximum period of leavewhich may be granted] at one time shall be, in the case of leave on full allowances, five months and inthe case of leave with allowances of any kind, sixteen months.
5[5A. Commutation of leave on half allowances into leave on full allowances.u2015(1)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) of section 5, a Judge may be permitted tocommute leave on half allowances into leave on full allowances on medical certificate up to amaximum of three months during the whole period of his leave as a Judge.
(2) In computing the maximum period of leave on full allowances which may be granted at onetime to a Judge under sub-section (3) of section 5, the amount of commuted leave permitted to himunder this section shall not be taken into account.
Subject to the maximum limit specified in sub-section (1) ofsection 5, leave on half allowances may be granted to a Judge in excess of the amount at his creditu2015
(i) on medical certificate; or
(ii) otherwise than on medical certificate, for a period not exceeding six months, or for two ormore periods not exceeding in the aggregate six months, during the whole period of his service asa Judge:
Provided that no such leave shall be granted if the Judge is not expected to return to duty at theend of such leave and earn the leave granted.
Special disability leave may be granted to a Judge under suchcircumstances, on such allowances and for such periods as may be prescribed.
Extraordinary leave may be granted to a Judge for a period notexceeding six months, or for two or more periods not exceeding in the aggregate six months, during the whole period of his service as a Judge in excess of any leave permissible under the foregoingprovisions of this Chapter, but no salary or allowances shall be payable in respect of such leave.
1[9. Leave allowances.u2015The monthly rate of leave salary payable to a Judge shall be inaccordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 3.]
1 Subs. by Act 13 of 2016, s. 21, for section 9 (w.e.f. 5-4-2016).
A Judge may be permitted to combine vacation on fullsalary with leave, ifu2015
(a) where the vacation consists of one continuous period, the leave is taken either at thecommencement or at the end of the vacation but not at both;
(b) where the vacation is divided into two periods, the leave is taken for the interval, or part ofthe interval, between the two periods of that vacation, or for the interval, or part of the interval,between the second period of that vacation and the commencement of the next ensuing vacation:
Provided that no such permission to combine vacation with leave shall be granted, if it becomesnecessary to appoint an acting Chief Justice during the period of vacation or if the Judge is notexpected to return to duty at the end of such leave.
(1) If a Judge overstays his leave or anyvacation, whether combined with leave or not, he shall receive no salary in respect of the period of hisabsence in excess of the leave granted to him or beyond the end of the vacation, as the case may be:
Provided that, if such absence is due to circumstances beyond his control, the period thereof maybe treated as leave and may be debited to his leave account.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring a Judge to rejoin on the expiration of theperiod of leave when that period expires immediately before the commencement of a vacation, nor asauthorising any acting Chief Justice to continue to hold the acting appointment during the vacation.
The authority competent to grant or refuse leave to aJudge or to revoke or curtail the leave already granted to a Judge shall be the President who shallexercise the power after consultation with the Chief Justice.
Subject to the provisions of this Act, a pension shall be payablein accordance with the provisions of Part I of the Schedule to a Judge of the Supreme Court on hisretirement if, but only if,u2015
(b) he has attained the age of sixty-five years; or
(c) his retirement is medically certified to be necessitated by ill-health.
2[Explanation.u2015In this section, "Judge" means a Judge who has not held any otherpensionable post under the Union or a State and includes a person who was in service as a Judge onthe 20th May, 1954, and also includes a Judge having held any other pensionable post under theUnion or a State, who has elected to receive the pension payable under Part I of the Schedule.]
1[13A. Benefit of added years of service.u2015Subject to the provisions of this Act, a period of tenyears shall be added to the service of a Judge for the purposes of his pension, who qualified forappointment as such judge under sub-clause (b) of clause (3) of article 124 of the Constitution.]
1[(1)Every Judge who has held any other pensionable post under the Union or a State shall, on hisretirement, be paid a pension in accordance with the provisions of Part III of the Schedule:
Provided that every such Judge shall elect to receive the pension payable to him either underPart I of the Schedule, or as the case may be, Part III of the Schedule, and the pension payable to himshall be calculated accordingly.]
2[(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), any Judge to whom that sub-sectionapplies and who is in service on or after the 1st day of October, 1974, may, if he has elected under theproviso to that sub-section to receive the pension payable to him under 3 Part III of theSchedule before the date on which the Supreme Court Judges (Conditions of Service) AmendmentAct, 1976 (36 of 1976), receives the assent of the President, cancel such election and elect afresh toreceive the pension payable to him under Part I of the Schedule and any such Judge who dies beforethe date of such assent, shall be deemed to have elected afresh to be governed by the provisions of thesaid Part I if the provisions of that Part are more favourable in his case. ]
The President may, for specialreasons, direct that any period not exceeding three months shall be added to the service for pension ofa Judge, and any such period so added shall count for pension purposesu2015
(a) in the case of a Judge who has served in the Supreme Court as Chief Justice, as service asChief Justice; and
(b) in the case of any other Judge, as service as any other Judge.
Extraordinary pensions and gratuities may be granted to a Judgeunder such circumstances and on such scales as may be prescribed.
1[16A. Family pension and gratuity.u20152[(1) Where a Judge who, being in service on or after thecommencement of the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Conditions of Service) AmendmentAct, 1986 (38 of 1986),u2015
(a) dies before retirement, 3[family pension calculated at the rate of fifty per cent. of hissalary]4 on the date of his death shall be payable to the person or persons entitled thereto andthe amount so payable shall be paid from the day following the date of death of the Judge for aperiod of seven years or for a period up to the date on which the Judge would have attained theage of sixty-five years, had he survived, whichever is earlier, 5[and thereafter at the rate of thirtyper cent. of his salary] 6; and
7[(b) dies after retirement on attaining the age of sixty-five years, 8[family pension shall bethirty per cent. of his salary]4 and shall be payable to the person or persons entitled thereto;
(c) dies after retirement after seeking premature retirement and before attaining the age ofsixty-five years, family pension shall be calculated at the rates specified in clause (a) shall bepayable to the person or persons entitled thereto.]
9[Provided that in no case the amount of family pension calculated under this sub-section shallexceed the pension payable to the Judge under this Act.]
Explanation.u2015For the purposes of determining the person or persons entitled to family pensionunder this sub-section,u2015
(i) in relation to a Judge who elects or is eligible to receive pension under Part I of theSchedule, the rules, notifications and orders for the time being in force with regard to the personor persons entitled to family pension in relation to an officer of the Central Civil Services,Group u201eAu201f, shall apply;
(ii) in relation to a Judge who elects to receive pension under 10 Part III of the Schedule,the ordinary rules of his service if he had not been appointed a Judge with respect to the person orpersons entitled to family pension shall apply and his service as a Judge being treated as servicetherein.]
(2) The rules, notifications and orders for the time being in force with respect to the grant ofdeath-cum-retirement gratuity benefit to or in relation to an officer of the Central Civil Services,Class I (including the provisions relating to deductions from pension for the purpose) shall apply to orin relation to the grant of death-cum-retirement gratuity benefit to or in relation to a Judge who, beingin service on or after the 1st day of October, 1974, retires, or dies in circumstances to whichsection 16 does not apply, subject to the modifications thatu2015
(i) the minimum qualifying service for the purpose of entitlement to the gratuity shall be twoyears and six months;
(ii) the amount of gratuity shall be calculated on the basis of 11[ten days] salary for 12[eachcompleted six months period] of service as a Judge;13
Explanation.u201515[In sub-section (2)], the expression u201cJudgeu201d has the same meaning as insection 13.]
3[16B. Additional quantum of pension or family pension.Every retired Judge or after hisdeath, the family, as the case may be, shall be entitled to an additional quantum of pension or familypension in accordance with the following scale:--
__________________________________________________________________________________Age of Pensioner or family Pensioner Additional quantum of pension or family pension
__________________________________________________________________________________From eighty years to less than eighty-five years Twenty per cent. of basic pension or familypension
From eighty-five years to less than ninety years Thirty per cent. of basic pension or familypension
From ninety years to less than ninety-five years Forty per cent. of basic pension or familypension
From ninety-five years to less than hundred years Fifty per cent. of basic pension or familypension
From hundred years or more Hundred per cent. of basic pension or familypension.]
1 Ins. by Act 23 of 2009, s. 10 (w.e.f. 1-1-2006).
If, at the time of his appointment to the Supreme Court, a Judge is in receipt of a pension inrespect of any previous service either as a Judge of a High Court or in any other pensionable civil postunder the Union or a State, the pension payable to him under this Act shall be an additional pensionfor service in the Supreme Court equal to the difference between his original pension and the pensionto which he would have been entitled under this Act, if his service in the Supreme Court had beenrendered in continuation of the previous service for which his original pension was granted.
[Conversion of sterling pension into rupees.] Omitted by the High Court and theSupreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 2016 (13 of 2016), s. 25(w.e.f. 5-4-2016).
The Civil Pensions (Commutation) Rules for the time being inforce shall, with necessary modifications, apply to Judges.
Every Judge shall be entitled to subscribe to the General Provident Fund(Central Services):
Provided that a Judge who 1 has held any other pensionable civil post under the Union or aState shall continue to subscribe to the provident fund to which he was subscribing before hisappointment as a Judge:
Provided further that a Judge who was appointed before the commencement of this Act maycontinue to subscribe to the provident fund to which he was subscribing immediately before suchcommencement.
1[20A. Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme.u2015The Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme for the timebeing in force under the General Provident Fund (Central Services) Rules, 1960, shall apply to everyJudge whether he subscribes to the General Provident Fund (Central Services) or any other ProvidentFund referred to in section 20.]
Save as may be otherwise expressly provided inthe relevant rules relating to the grant of extraordinary pensions and gratuities, the authoritycompetent to grant pension to a Judge under the provisions of this Act shall be the President.
A Judge shall receive such reasonable allowance toreimburse him for expenses incurred in travelling on duty within the territory of India and shall beafforded such reasonable facilities in connection with travelling as may, from time to time, beprescribed.
(1) Every Judge shall beentitled without payment of rent to the use of an official residence in accordance with such rules asmay, from time to time, be made in this behalf.
1[2[(1A) Where a Judge does not avail himself of the use of an official residence, he may be paidevery month an allowance equivalent to an amount of twenty-four per centum of the salary whichshall be increased at the rate ofu2014
(a) twenty-seven per centum, when Dearness Allowance crosses twenty-five per centum; and
(b) thirty per centum, when Dearness Allowance crosses fifty per centum.] 3]].
(2) Every Judge and the members of his family shall be entitled to such facilities for medicaltreatment and for accommodation in hospitals as may, from time to time, be prescribed.
(3) The conditions of service of a Judge for which no express provision has been made in this Actshall be such as may be determined by rules made under this Act.
4[(4) Sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) shall be deemed to have come into force on the 26th day ofJanuary, 1950 and sub-section (1A) shall be deemed to have come into force on the 9th day ofMay, 1986 and any rule made under any of the said sub-sections may be made so as to beretrospective to any date not earlier than the commencement of the respective sub-section.]
1[23C. Medical facilities for retired Judges. Every retired Judge shall, with effect from the dateon which the Supreme Court Judges (Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 1976 (36 of 1976)receives the assent of the President, be entitled, for himself and his family, to the same facilities asrespects medical treatment and on the same conditions as a retired officer of the Central CivilServices, Class I and his family, are entitled under any rules and orders of the Central Government forthe time being in force.]
1[2[23D. Exemption from liability to pay Income-tax on certain perquisites received by aJudge.u2015Notwithstanding anything contained in the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961),u2015
(a) the value of rent-free official residence provided to a Judge under sub-section (1) ofsection 23 3[or the allowance paid to him under sub-section (1A) of that section];
(b) the value of the conveyance facilities provided to a Judge under section 23A;
(c) the sumptuary allowance provided to a Judge under section 23B,
shall not be included in the computation of his income chargeable under the head u201cSalariesu201d undersection 15 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961).]
4[(d) the value of leave travel concession provided to a Judge and members of his family.]
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules mayprovide for all or any of the following matters, namely:u2015
(a) leave of absence of a Judge, including special disability leave;
1[(aa) the number of casual leaves and the conditions subject to which it may be allowedunder sub-section (3) of section 3;]
(b) pension payable to a Judge, including extraordinary pensions and gratuities;
(c) travelling allowances to a Judge;
(d) use of official residence by a Judge;
(e) facilities for medical treatment and other conditions of service of Judge;
(f) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.
2[(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, beforeeach House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may becomprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of thesession immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree inmaking any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the ruleshall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so,however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity ofanything previously done under that rule.]
| 19-03-2018 | THE SUPREME COURT JUDGES RULES, 1959 (AS ON 10.05.2019) | |
| 10-07-2018 | THE SUPREME COURT JUDGES (TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE) RULES 1959 |
| 27-01-2018 | THE HIGH COURT AND SUPREME COURT JUDGES (SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) AMENDMENT ACT, 2018 | |
| 19-03-2018 | Revision of Furnishing Allowance of Supreme Court Judges | |
| 10-07-2018 | Revision of Travelling Allowance of Supreme Court Judges |
Nothing contained in this Act shall have effect so as to give to a Judge who isserving as such at the commencement of this Act less favourable terms in respect of his privileges andallowances or his rights in respect of leave of absence (including leave allowances) or pension thanthose to which he would have been entitled, if this Act had not been passed.