Officers and servants and the expenses of the Supreme Court

Article 122, Draft Constitution of India 1948

(1) The salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of the officers and servants of the Supreme Court shall be fixed by the Chief Justice of India in consultation with the President.

(2) The administrative expenses of the Supreme Court, including all salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of the officers and servants of the court, shall be charged upon the revenues of India, and any fees or other moneys taken by the court shall form part of those revenues.

Article 146, Constitution of India 1950

(1) Appointments of officers and servants of the Supreme Court shall be made by the Chief Justice of India or such other Judge or officer of the Court as he may direct:

⁠Provided that the President may by rule require that in such cases as may be specified in the rule, no person not already attached to the Court shall be appointed to any office connected with the Court, save after consultation with the Union Public Service Commission.

⁠(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, the conditions of service of officers and servants of the Supreme Court shall be such as may be prescribed by rules made by the Chief Justice of India or by some other Judge or officer of the Court authorised by the Chief Justice of India to make rules for the purpose:
⁠Provided that the rules made under this clause shall, so far as they relate to salaries, allowances, leave or pensions, require the approval of the President.

⁠(3) The administrative expenses of the Supreme Court, including all salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of the officers and servants of the Court, shall be charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India, and any fees or other moneys taken by the Court shall form part of that Fund.

Draft Article 122 (Article 146) was debated on 27th May 1949. It laid out the rules pertaining to the salary of officers of the Supreme Court.

The Chairman of the Drafting Committee proposed to wholly replace the Draft Article with the following:

‘(1) Appointments of officers and servants of the Supreme Court shall be made by the chief Justice of India or such other judge or officer of the court as he may direct:

Provided that the President may by rule require that in such cases may be specified in the rule, no person not already attached to the court shall be appointed to any office connected with the court, save after consultation with the Union Public Service Commission.

(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, the conditions of services of officers and servants of the Supreme Court shall be such as may be prescribed by rules made by the Chief Justice of India or by some other judge or officer of the court authorised by the Chief Justice of India to make rules for the purpose:

Provided that the salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of such officers and servants shall be fixed by the Chief Justice of India in consultation with the President.

(3) The administrative expenses of the Supreme Court, including all salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of the officers and servants of the court, shall be charged upon the revenues of India, and any fees or other moneys taken by the court shall form part of those revenues.‘

He further proposed that the proviso to clause (2) of the amendment be replaced to require that the rules pertaining to salaries, allowances, leaves or pensions receive the approval of the President.

The debates in the Assembly were based on the proposed amendments. The amendments expanded the Supreme Court’s power to appoint officers and fix their salaries, and also ensured that the court’s administrative expenses were charged on the revenues of India.

The amendments received the widespread support of the Assembly. One member stated that clause (1) ensured there would be ‘no favouritism in the matter of appointments’. A member of the Drafting Committee lauded the amendment for securing the interests of the taxpayer as well as the independence of the judiciary.

However, one member believed that the requirement for the Chief Justice to obtain the approval of the President – rather than merely consult with him – infringed on the independence of the judiciary. Another member agreed with him, arguing that it was not right to ‘subordinate…powers of the Supreme Court to an individual entrusted with the powers of an executive nature’. In response, one member stated that the approval requirement was necessary as only the executive would be fully aware of the budgetary constraints of the exchequer. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee noted that the proposed amendment ensured uniformity in salaries for all civil servants, as it restricted the Chief Justice from fixing a salary scale which was markedly different from the scale fixed for officers of other branches of government.

Both amendments were accepted by the Assembly. Draft Article 122 was adopted on 27th May 1949.