No additional pay: Govt stops paying special judicial allowance to court employees

Sindh High Court had ordered the payment of this allowance in May 2011.

KARACHI: The federal government has ordered the cessation of the payment of a special judicial allowance, which is three times the basic pay of the employees in the provincial judiciary, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The then provincial chief justice Mushir Alam had passed a judicial order in May 2011 on a petition filed by SHC employees directing the chief secretary and finance secretary to pay special judicial allowance to employees - set at triple of their basic pay.

The judges had further ordered the government to start payments with effect from March 2010 in order to put their salaries at par with their colleagues in the other provinces. After the SHC employees had won their case, their colleagues performing duties in the federal-government-administered special courts and tribunals also obtained orders to be paid the special allowance on the grounds that they are also a part of the judiciary.

However, a notice was issued by the Pakistan auditor general (AG) from his office in Islamabad on February 11, which ordered the allowance be stopped immediately.

The notice

“After thorough deliberations of the Higher Audit Cell of this office, the admissibility of the Supreme Judicial Allowance, which is meant for the honorable judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the high courts for specific judicial duties they are performing, is not admissible to other public functionaries,” states the notice which is sure to earn considerable backlash. “Therefore, the payment of a special judicial allowance already made to those other than the judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the high courts may be stopped forthwith and the overpayment made to all non-entitled personnel may be recovered from either their salaries or their pension as per the rules.”

Reaction

In Sindh, the AG’s decision has shocked thousands of employees performing their duties in the Sindh High Court (SHC) - at its principal seat, its three circuit benches and the subordinate courts in all the districts.

A senior official in the high court establishment department said that the decision to withdraw the special allowance would affect thousands of the employees. “There are about 500 judicial officers across the province and each has seven or eight employees working under their subordination. They will be ones to face the brunt of this decision,” the official felt.

Similar apprehensions were also expressed by SHC staff performing their duties with the judges. A sweeper, who requested not to be named, told The Express Tribune that the withdrawal of special judicial allowance will decrease his monthly basic income by Rs9,000.

The SHC registrar Muhammad Faheem Siddiqui refused to comment on the issue, saying that the matter needs to be cleared up before any decisions can be made. However, a judicial officer, who also requested not to be named, said that the AG office’s decision may not be applicable to the employees of the high court and district courts in Sindh due to technical loophole.

“In the other provinces, the special judicial allowance was being given to the employees upon administrative orders but here it was enforced through a judicial order passed on a constitutional petition,” the officer argued.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2014.