Address salary parity for court staff: HC to govt

Jaipur: A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court Friday directed the state govt to adhere to its previous directives concerning salary parity between high court staff and their counterparts in district courts. The court set a deadline for compliance and warned of possible repercussions for state officials if the govt fails to act. The bench of Justice Sudesh Bansal and Justice Ashutosh Kumar passed the order while hearing a contempt petition filed by Rajesh Jain.
The court referred to its Feb 10, 2019, order holding that posts of employees in the high court are equivalent to those in district and sessions courts and should therefore carry similar pay scales. The petitioner argued that despite the directions, the order had not been implemented and district court employees continued to draw higher salaries than their counterparts in the high court. During the hearing, Raghvendra Kachwal, principal secretary (Law), appeared on behalf of the state govt. The bench expressed dissatisfaction with the govt's response on compliance. The court was told that the finance department needed additional time to take a final decision and implement the directions. Granting the request, the bench allowed one week to ensure compliance and said the govt must act promptly to address the parity issue. The court made it explicitly clear that if the state fails to comply with the high court's reinstated directives by the deadline, both the Principal Secretary of Law and the Secretary of Finance will be required to appear in person before the court on March 12 to explain the delay. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !