In a substantive intervention in the Rajya Sabha, Member of Parliament Kartikeya Sharma raised a Special Mention today, urging the Government to undertake an urgent and comprehensive review of the salary and service conditions of the Indian judiciary.
Highlighting disparities in judicial remuneration, Sharma noted that judges in India are paid significantly less than their counterparts in several major global democracies. He stressed the need for a compensation framework that reflects international benchmarks while upholding the stature and dignity of the institution. According to him, competitive remuneration is essential to safeguard judicial independence and to attract and retain the most accomplished members of the Bar on the Bench.
Emphasizing the constitutional centrality of the judiciary, Sharma underlined that judges bear the critical responsibility of safeguarding constitutional values, protecting fundamental rights, and upholding the rule of law. He pointed out that these duties are carried out in an increasingly demanding environment, marked by mounting caseloads and rising public expectations. However, he observed that current compensation structures do not adequately reflect the scale of these responsibilities, nor do they maintain parity with comparable roles within India’s constitutional framework.
Sharma cautioned that the absence of parity with other high public offices raises concerns about institutional balance and long-term capacity. He argued that judicial remuneration must be viewed not merely as a matter of pay, but as a structural pillar of judicial independence and institutional credibility. Robust and dignified service conditions, he added, are crucial to insulating the judiciary from external pressures and maintaining public trust in the justice delivery system.
Concluding his intervention, Sharma called on the Government to undertake a forward-looking and holistic review of judicial salaries and service conditions, guided by global standards and the principle of institutional parity. He emphasized that strengthening judicial service conditions is a necessary investment in the independence, efficiency, and credibility of India’s justice system—and vital to ensuring that it continues to be served by the country’s finest legal minds.
