Delayed and denied: Judiciary wrangles with bureaucracy over better pay

The judiciary estimates budget needs to go up 15% each year.

KARACHI:

Sindh’s judiciary has asked the government to double its budget, but despite bureaucratic wranglings, the “baboos” have once again successfully blocked the way forward by challenging two judgments in favour of higher staff salaries.

To give an idea of the kind of money being discussed, the judiciary had demanded Rs1.8 billion one year ago and Rs2.8 billion for the fiscal year that is ending, 2010-2011. The court administration estimate that each year the allocation for the Sindh High Court and lower courts (salaries, development etc.) needs to go up 15 per cent. But as the bureaucracy never approves the demand, as a matter of routine, the judiciary asks for just a little bit more so that after negotiations it comes down to a “genuine level”, a budget mole said.

There was a substantial rise in the salaries and perks of judicial officers and staff, requiring a corresponding increase in the budget for the judiciary but the government kitty has less beans, he said.

Court employees aided by the bar associations, filed two petitions asking for more money and the SHC gave a verdict in their favour. The  government was unable to bear the pressure and there are inklings that these verdicts would be assailed before the Supreme Court, a source in the law ministry confided.

This notion was backed by Syed Haider Imam Rizvi of the Karachi Bar Association who appeared in one of the two petitions. We have some hints that the government is preparing to appeal against these decisions but so far we have no intimation or notice from the Supreme Court, he told The Express Tribune.

The two petitions saw through a hefty increase in the salaries of the staff for judges of both the SHC and lower courts such as readers, registrars, protocol officers. According to a conservative estimate, a grade 22 judicial officer is paid Rs179,000 — three times what is paid to an officer at the same grade in the government or a semi-government body. The raise was demanded on the basis of the salaries in the Punjab.

The SHC also has a number of ambitious projects ahead, including the underway nine-storey building to house the courts and chambers of judges as the SHC’s strength was increased to 40.

The most important project is to shift all five district courts to a new premises. Another issue is to provide cars to all judicial officers - from the judicial magistrate level to the additional district and sessions judges.



Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2011.