Opinion Not by pay alone
Making the bench attractive requires raising both pay and prestige
An anomalous conclusion presents itself if we place the recent voluntary disclosure of assets by Supreme Court judges in the context of the amounts made by other members of the legal profession. Over the past decade,the practice of law has became much more attractive,financially. There has been an infusion of youth into the Supreme Court bar in the last five years,the market for corporate transaction advisory practices has exploded,and the salaries on offer when firms and companies recruit graduates from Indias leading law schools has gone through the roof. However,as with any discussion on the salaries of Indian public officials,we need to consider the easy and convenient link to corruption,and the need to attract good talent.
On the corporate practice side,a salaried partner (typically under-35,and working in metropolitan cities) at a large national corporate law firm today earns above Rs 60 lakh a year. Lawyers working within legal teams in Indian companies make tidy sums too. The growth of the profession has also opened up lucrative options for graduating law students who have the option of starting at salaries in excess of Rs 12 lakh a year.
On the litigation side,lawyers have to spend years negotiating non-viable monthly income in the hope of increasing their independent practice and obtaining financial security. Today many senior advocates of the Supreme Court are sensitive to the financial security of their juniors. This turnaround is reason for cautious optimism. Many experienced litigators in the country make enough in one week to make the annual salary of many professionals seem a pittance. (Rightfully so,as the returns in litigation are skewed towards the later years of practice.)
So what are judges paid in India? In September 2008,the Sixth Pay Commission recommended a three-fold increase in salaries for the higher judiciary. All judges of the Supreme Court now receive Rs 1 lakh a month; the Chief Justice earns 1.1,and sitting judges of the High Courts 90,000. In the lower judiciary,pay is far lower. Justice E. Padmanabhan,appointed by the Supreme Court in April to recommend pay revisions in the lower judiciary,has submitted a report recommending a 3.07-fold hike in salaries. The starting salary of a civil judge (junior division) is now expected to rise to around Rs 35,000 per month. (In addition,judges in India enjoy several perks beyond their basic salary like travel,electricity and telephone allowances and infrastructure support.)
It is with this backdrop that the Chief Justice of India has declared a Santro car,20 sovereigns of gold jewellery and real estate worth 18 lakh rupees. (These figures should be only be taken for what they are: the declared assets of judges at the top of the judiciary who were paid on a scale since revised.) We need to be mindful of the fact that in joining the judiciary,respect and authority of the position and the opportunity to be a key instrument of legal reform are major attractions,and are granted irrespective of success. This is not true anywhere else in the legal profession. Further,the prestige of the position does translate to some form of financial gain as post-retirement. Judges have the built fairly lucrative practices providing opinions on legal issues and arbitrating in proceedings between parties.
The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court makes around $217,000 (about Rs 1 crore) a year,comparable to associates at top US law firms. However the fact that the US judiciary manages to tap good legal talent is evidence of having balanced the prestige of the position with the amount required for judges to not worry about their financial status or be led astray.
This balance between financial security and the prestige of a position on the bench is what needs to be examined and the issue really lies at the lower end of the judiciary,as the bench seeks to bring in legal talent choosing a career.
For young lawyers and law students (especially from top law schools),a decision to join the judicial cadre does seem financially unsound when compared to other avenues that are open to them. However,irrespective of pay increases,quality legal talent will move towards the lower judiciary only if the prestige of the position is improved.
Should judicial pay scales be further revised? Yes,but the members of the higher judiciary need to focus now on raising the pay scales and perks for the lower judiciary – both to stem corruption,and importantly,to build the right systems that will attract legal talent to the bench. After that,an increased pay scale for the higher judiciary would not even be a question of debate.
The writer works for a Mumbai-based legal-services organisation
express@expressindia.com
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