Chandigarh, June 22- The Haryana Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini here today, approved amendments to the Haryana Superior Judicial Service Rules, 2007, in compliance with the judgment dated May 19, 2023, passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the matter of All India Judges Association versus Union of India and Others.
The amendments have been proposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to align the State’s judicial service rules with the directions issued by the Supreme Court regarding service conditions and career progression of officers of the Higher Judicial Service.
Under the approved amendments, changes have been made in Rules 16(1), 16(2) and 17 of the Haryana Superior Judicial Service Rules, 2007. In addition, a new Appendix has been inserted and consequential amendments have been carried out in the Schedule attached to the Rules.
The amendments provide for the adoption of a revised pay structure for members of the Haryana Superior Judicial Service. The revised provisions incorporate the pay scales and annual progression for District Judges at Entry Level, Selection Grade and Super Time Scale, as recommended in accordance with the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
The Cabinet also approved provisions relating to the grant of Selection Grade and Super Time Scale posts. As per the amended rules, Selection Grade shall be available to 35 percent of the cadre posts of District Judges and will be granted to officers having not less than five years of continuous service in the cadre on the basis of merit-cum-seniority.
Similarly, Super Time Scale shall be available to 15 percent of the cadre posts of District Judges and will be granted to officers who have completed not less than three years of continuous service in Selection Grade, subject to assessment on the basis of merit-cum-seniority.
The amended provisions further stipulate that annual increments shall be calculated at the rate of three percent on a cumulative basis, with each year’s increment being computed on the previous year’s basic pay.