Madhya Pradesh High Court gives State last chance to comply with orders to avoid judiciary-executive conflict

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently observed that the State government's continuous inaction on court orders would create a conflict between the judiciary and the executive..A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sheel Nagu (now Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court) and Justice Amar Nath (Kesharwani) observed that the State was yet to implement orders passed by the High Court in 2017 and 2019."If State continues to sit over the matter for any further period of time, it would create a situation where judiciary and executive would be at loggerheads which is not in the interest of administration of justice.".The Court had passed certain directions to the Chief Secretary in a contempt plea concerning the upgradation of payscale of High Court employees. By the 2019 order, the High Court had directed:"Petitioners/employees are to submit a detailed representation within two weeks, seeking upgradation of pay scales and allowances to match those of employees in other High Courts.Upon receiving the representation, the Registrar General will present it to the Chief Justice for consideration of amendments to the High Court Rules as proposed by government.".The Court expressed shock at the State's inaction on the matters."It is quite unfortunate to note that the State is sitting tight over the 2 matter since last seven years after passing of order dated 28.04.2017 in WP. No.7058/2016 and since last five years after passing of the order dated 05.09.2019. This contempt petition was adjourned on several occasions for one pretext or the other," it said..The Chief Secretary, who was present in person during the last hearing, was informed that the High Court had recommended specific pay scales for High Court employees across various cadres.This recommendation has been pending with the State government for almost ten years, awaiting approval and notification by the Governor."What is disturbing in this case is that the State Government is indulging in procrastination for reasons attributed to the State Government in a situation where the Chief Justice exercising powers under Article 229(2) of the Constitution recommended revised pay-scales for employees of the High Court after assessing requirement of number of posts and nature of duties attached to each post in the establishment of High Court," the order stated..It added that if the Chief Justice of the High Court proposes a justified revision or upgradation of pay scales, the obstacle of insufficient funds should not prevent the State from accepting the recommendation..However, given that Chief Secretary Veera Rana cited the Legislative Assembly being in session as a reason, the Court, as a final act of leniency, granted the State an additional three weeks to resolve the stalemate.The case is scheduled for further proceedings on July 31"for either reporting compliance by the State or showing cause as to why coercive steps be not taken against respondent/contemner.".Senior Advocate Naman Nagrath and Advocate Himanshu Mishra appeared for petitioner.Additional Advocates General Bharat Singh and Ashish Anand Bernard appeared for respondent..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.