State Has Non-Negotiable Obligation To Create Adequate Staff And Infrastructure To Judiciary: SC [Read Judgment]

The state government has allowed the requirements of the state judiciary to be neglected over such a long period of time, the bench said.

Expressing its concern about the state government ‘neglecting’ the requirements of judiciary, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur has observed that it is the non-negotiable obligation on the state government to create an adequate number of posts and to provide sufficient infrastructure to the judiciary.

This observation was made by a three-judge bench in State Of Jammu and Kashmir vs. District Bar Association, Bandipora, while setting aside the high court direction for regularisation of daily rated workers engaged in the high court and the district judiciary. The high court had ordered regularisation as it ‘was necessitated to ensure that judicial work does not suffer’.

The high court observed that over a considerable period of time, the state government has not created the required number of posts for the state judiciary, as a result of which work has been hampered.

The bench observed that the high court proceeded to issue directions for regularisation without considering either the legal position enunciated in the judgments like Secretary, State of Karnataka v. Umadevi and Renu vs. District and Sessions Judge, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi, or without considering the prevailing rules and regulations on the subject.

Setting aside the order and directing the high court to reconsider the matter afresh in the light of constitutional and legal principles, the bench said: “It is unfortunate, in our view, that the state government has allowed the requirements of the state judiciary to be neglected over such a long period of time. The need to facilitate the proper functioning of the high court and the district judiciary is a constitutional necessity which imposes a non-negotiable obligation on the state government to create an adequate number of posts and to provide sufficient infrastructure. The state government is to blame for the unfortunate situation, which has resulted in a large number of persons being recruited on a daily wage basis.”