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K. Sreedhar Rao v. Union of India (through Secretary, Ministry of Law & Justice)

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2019 INSC 1012Decided 6 Sept 2019
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 300 of 2016
Justice Arun Mishra · Justice M.R. Shah · Justice B.R. Gavai

Background

The petitioner, a judge of the Karnataka Judicial Service who was later elevated to the High Court and transferred to the Gauhati High Court, was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and served in that capacity for about 14 months before retiring. While serving as Acting Chief Justice he drew the salary of a Chief Justice, and on retirement he claimed that his pension should also be computed and capped at the higher level applicable to a regularly appointed Chief Justice, not merely a puisne judge. The government disagreed, leading him to approach the Supreme Court directly under Article 32.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that an Acting Chief Justice appointed under Article 223 of the Constitution is legally distinct from a Chief Justice appointed under Article 217: the higher salary during the acting tenure is a limited, purpose-specific equivalence and does not extend to pension entitlement generally. However, reading Rules 2 and 7 of Part I of the First Schedule of the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 together, the period actually served as Acting Chief Justice must be counted and computed as Chief Justice service for pension purposes, but only for that specific 14-month period, not for the petitioner's entire career or with the full pension ceiling applicable to a retired Chief Justice. On this basis the Court dismissed the petition, holding the petitioner was not entitled to the broader relief and declaration he sought.

Lesson Learnt

Holding an "acting" constitutional post carries only those specific legal entitlements the statute expressly grants for that purpose (here, salary during the term and pension credit for that period): it does not automatically confer all benefits of the substantive office for every purpose, such as a higher overall pension ceiling.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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