Law researchers have filed a petition in Delhi High Court demanding a salary hike to Rs 80,000 as approved in 2022. They also seek arrears with 18% annual interest, citing prolonged government inaction.
New Delhi: Today, on June 03, A group of law researchers has recently approached the Delhi High Court with a request to implement the Chief Justice’s order that had increased their monthly salary to Rs 80,000 starting from October 1, 2022.
They are also asking for arrears, pending payments since that date, along with 18% annual interest.
The petition explains that, under Article 229 of the Indian Constitution, the Delhi High Court had made the Establishment Rules in 1972.
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These rules created 367 posts of Senior Judicial Assistants. Out of these, 120 posts were given to law researchers under the Scheme for Engagement of Law Researchers in the Delhi High Court.
The case came up for hearing last week before a bench of Justice C. Harishankar and Justice Ajay Digpaul. However, Justice Digpaul recused himself from hearing the case, so it was transferred to a different bench.
During the hearing, Justice Harishankar strongly supported the concerns raised by the researchers. He acknowledged their hard work and said,
“law researchers often work longer hours than judges”.
He also pointed out the pay gap between researchers in the High Court and the Supreme Court, saying that
“Supreme Court law researchers receive significantly higher remuneration”.
He expressed his worry over the delay in implementation of the salary hike and said that even though two years have passed since the proposal was approved, no action has been taken.
Justice Harishankar firmly stated that
“law researchers deserve recognition and fair compensation for their work”.
Now, the matter has been transferred to another bench and will be reviewed after the court vacation.
The salary of law researchers was initially fixed at Rs 25,000 per month. In August 2017, it was increased to Rs 35,000 after approval from the then Acting Chief Justice.
Later, under the powers given by Article 229, the salary was again increased to Rs 50,000 in August 2018, and then to Rs 65,000 in August 2019. Finally, the Chief Justice approved a salary of Rs 80,000 effective from October 2022.
However, this final increase is still not in effect, as the proposal is pending approval from the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
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Even after many requests by the law researchers, the hike has not been implemented. In November 2021, the government only approved an increase from Rs 35,000 to Rs 65,000, and that too only for the future, ignoring earlier approvals.
Frustrated by this delay, the researchers filed RTI (Right to Information) applications in March and August 2024. Through these, they found that the proposal had been sent to the GNCTD in September 2023, but still hasn’t been approved.
When they tried to get more information from the Finance and Law Departments, officials refused to share details, citing Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act.
It has now been almost two years since the Chief Justice’s direction for the increase in salary was approved.
Even after repeated follow-ups and clarifications issued by the Delhi High Court in May 2024, the hike and arrears remain unpaid.
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The petitioners have argued that the
“prolonged delay in executing the Chief Justice’s directive and the continued withholding of arrears despite clear administrative and constitutional approvals, necessitate urgent judicial intervention.”
