Lower courts employees to get 20% judicial allowance • Staff Report • April 05, 2014 • Be First To Comment afp LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Friday directed the Punjab government to give 20 percent judicial allowanceto lower courts employees as interim relief. The chief justice issued these directives while hearing the petition filed by lower judiciary employees Abdul Malik from Lahore and Sakhawat Ali fromFaisalabad for payment of judicial allowance. Finance Secretary Jahanzeb Khan informed the court that the provincial government was facing financial constraints and was unable to provide 50 percent judicial allowance. He offered to pay 20 percent allowance as interim relief and requested the court to adjourn the case till the presentation of budget in Punjab Assembly. The chief justice accepted the offer of paying 20 percent allowance anddeferred hearing till budget presentation. In his remarks, the chief justice said that the Punjab government would resolve the issue in budget. Muhammad Azhar Siddique, counsel for the petitioners, said that lower judiciary staff were performing duties similar to duties being performed by the members of the LHC establishment but that they were not being paid similar benefits which they deserved. He submitted that special judicial allowance equal to three times of initial or substantive pay in addition to judicial allowance and utility allowance had been allowed to judges of subordinate judiciary and also to the staff of the LHC but that the same benefit had not been extended to the petitioners. He said that the petitioners, being the employees of same province, were entitled to be dealt equally with staff of the LHC in accordance with the spirit of Article 4 of the constitution. He said that the Punjab government’s executive superintendence and financial control over the staff of district judiciary was hitting the independence of the judiciary. He said that the LHC had also written to the Finance Department to give this allowance to thepetitioners but to no avail. He requested to declare illegal the applicability of Civil Servants Act, 1973, and rules or regulations made for the purposes of appointment, removal, promotions and financial matters regarding the lower judiciary staff. He further requested to issue directives to the government for payment of special judicial allowances equal to three times of the initial basic salary with effect from 2008. He requested that financial and administrative affairs of the aforesaid employees should be run in the same manner affairs of the staff of superior judiciary are being run. Judicial allowance to district judiciary employees: LHC seeks schedule of payment of arrears by 17th • Staff Report • July 04, 2014 • Be First To Comment LAHORE: Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, of the Lahore High Court (LHC), on Thursday directed the finance secretary to submit the schedule of payment regarding arrears of the increased judicial allowance to employees of district judiciary by July 17.Secretary Jahanzeb Khan informed the court that the government had decided to grant 50 percent increase in judicial allowance to court employees with effect from July 1, 2010,as admissible to officials of high courts in other provinces. He assured the court that these employees would get the increased allowance from 1st of July while rest of the amount would be paid later due to financial constraints. He expressed reservations on the grant of ad-hoc allowance to the employees due to certain complications. The judge put off the matter of ad-hoc allowance. However, the judge directed the secretary to submit the schedule of payment regarding arrears of judicial allowance till the next hearing. Justice Shah also directed the LHC to send a summary to the finance secretary detailing demand of payment in this regard. Subordinate judiciary employees, Abdul Malik from Lahore and Sakhawat Alifrom Faisalabad, had filed the petition for payment of judicial allowance through Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique. The counsel said that employees of subordinate judiciary in the province were performing duties similar to members of LHC Establishment but that they were not being paid the benefits, which they deserved. He submitted that the special judicial allowance equal to three times of initial substantive pay in addition to judicial allowance and utility allowance had been allowed to judges in district judiciary and also to the staff of LHC but the same had not been extended to the petitioners. He said that the petitioners were entitled to be dealt equally with staff members of the LHC in accordance with the spirit of law as envisaged by Article 4 of the constitution being the employees of same province. He submitted that the petitioners and other staff of lower judiciary were dealing with heavy quantum of work as compared to their counterparts in the LHC. He said that executive superintendence and financial control by the Punjab government over the staff of district judiciary was hitting the independence of judiciary. He said that national judicial policy committee in July 2013 had directed the Punjab government to give this allowance to the employees but to no avail. He said that the LHC had also written to the finance department to give this allowance to the employees of lower courts but in vain. He requested the court to declare illegal and constitutional the applicability of Civil Servants Act, 1973, and rules or regulations made for the purposes of appointment, removal, promotions and financial matters regarding the lower judiciary staff. He further requested the court to issue directions to the government to pay special judicial allowance equal to three times of initial basic salary with effect from 2008. He also requested the court to treat the financial and administrative affairs of the aforesaid employees like the staff of superior judiciary.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 05:15:44 +0000
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