The Supreme Court has directed all High Courts to frame or amend rules for appointing court managers. It also ordered regularisation of existing managers after a suitability test.
New Delhi: Today, On May 16, The Supreme Court of India gave an important order to all High Courts regarding the appointment of court managers. The Court showed concern that many court managers are still working on a contract basis, even though their posts were created a long time ago.
The top court said that High Courts must either create new rules or change the current rules to appoint court managers in a more proper and permanent manner.
The High Courts must adjust the rules according to their own needs and send them to the respective state governments within three months.
A Bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, Justice Augustine George Masih, and Justice K Vinod Chandran made this ruling.
The Court also said that the court managers who are already working should be regularised, but this will depend on them passing a suitability test.
This means their jobs can become permanent only if they pass the required test. It is important to note that the Supreme Court had given a similar direction earlier in 2018, but unfortunately, proper action had not been taken.
The Supreme Court made it clear that the regularisation of court managers should be counted from the beginning of their service.
However, the Court also said that these court managers will not be given any back pay or arrears for the earlier period.
The Court expressed disappointment by saying,
“We are at pains to say that they are still working on contractual basis and some states have discontinued them for shortage of funds.”
The position of court managers was created after the 13th Finance Commission. These managers were appointed to help judges with administrative work, especially in High Courts and District Courts.
Despite this initiative, many of them have continued working without job security and proper recognition.
On Friday, the Supreme Court confirmed that court managers will now be treated as Class-II gazetted officers. This is a significant development, as it gives them a respectable position in the government service hierarchy.
The Court also added,
“They shall be under Registrar General of High Court and in district court they shall be under registrar or superintendent of such district court.”
The order was passed during the hearing of an application in the All India Judges Association case. In 2018, the Supreme Court had already ordered that trained and professional court managers, preferably with MBA degrees, should be appointed to assist judges with court management and administration.
The 2018 order had stated,
“The said post of Court managers must be created in each judicial district for assisting Principal District and Sessions Judges. Such Court Managers would enable the District Judges to devote more time to their core work, that is, judicial functions. This, in turn, would enhance the efficiency of the District Judicial System. These court managers would also help in identifying the weaknesses in the court management systems and recommending workable steps under the supervision of their respective judges for rectifying the same.”
Senior Advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar appeared as Amicus Curiae (a friend of the court) in the matter.
Advocate Siddharth R Gupta represented the National Association of Court Managers, which was an intervenor in the case.
He appeared along with Advocate-on-Record Prabhakar Mrigank and advocates Uddaish Palya and Aman Agarwal.
This direction from the Supreme Court is a major step towards strengthening court administration in India and giving due recognition and dignity to court managers who play a crucial role in improving the working of courts.
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