Salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges have been hiked by the Central government.
The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries And Conditions Of Service) Amendment Act, 2018 was notified on January 25.
The Act amends the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958.
The Chief Justice of India will now be paid a monthly salary of Rs. 2.8 lakh, while puisne judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of high courts will receive Rs. 2.5 lakh per month. Other judges of high courts will be paid Rs. 2.25 lakh per month. This is apart from the perks and amenities the judges receive.
The hike will be effective from January 2016.
The salary of the CJI currently stands at Rs. 1 lakh per month; Supreme Court judges and CJs of high courts are paid Rs. 90,000 and puisne judges of high courts get Rs. 80,000 per month.
The salaries of Supreme Court and high court judges, which are determined as per Schedule II of the Constitution of India, has only been revised three times since 1950. Below is a table showing how judges’ salaries have increased over the years:
| Year | Salary of CJI | Salary of SC judge | Salary of HC CJ | Salary of HC judge |
| 1950 | 5,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 3,500 |
| 1986 | 10,000 | 9,000 | 9,000 | 8,000 |
| 1996 | 33,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 26,000 |
| 2009 | 1,00,000 | 90,000 | 90,000 | 80,000 |
Read the Amendment Act below.