HC stays Kerala Govt order renaming special pay as special allowance

The Kerala High Court has put on hold a state government order renaming judicial officers' special pay as "special allowance", stating that it was an attempt to deny them monetary benefits and that it "cannot be sustained" prima facie.

Justice V G Arun issued the interim order in response to a petition filed by the Kerala Judicial Officers Association, which sought to overturn the state government's decision in 2022, which renamed special pay as "special allowance".

While putting the government's 2022 decision on hold, the court also served notice on it, asking for its response to the association's petition. The association's lawyer, senior advocate Jaju Babu, told the court that referring to the special pay as a special allowance was not a drafting error, but rather a "deliberate mischief," because, according to the latest government order, "the special pay drawn by judicial officers of the District Judiciary as part of their pay will be considerably reduced." According to the association, the concept of special pay was developed on the basis of recommendations by the 1st National Judicial Commission, also known as the Shetty Commission, which stated that judicial officers who also had significant administrative work should be provided with this monetary benefit.

According to the petition, the Supreme Court accepted the recommendation and asked the High Courts to make a decision on the payment of special pay. In 2006, the Kerala High Court forwarded a proposal to the state government to sanction'special pay.'

The state government approved special pay for serving judicial officers tasked with administrative duties, but it was referred to as a "special allowance" by the state government.

Following a directive from the Supreme Court, the benefit was extended to judicial officers serving on deputation. Following that, the Supreme Court ordered the special allowance to be renamed 'special pay,' as recommended by the Shetty Commission report, which the state government did in 2010, according to the plea.

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