After many allowances were abolished on recommendations of 7th Pay Commission including washing allowance, decision of central government to allow but only for Supreme Court officers at Rs 21000 per annum is questionable. Earlier this washing allowance was for armed forces and other para-military staff that too at much less amount of Rs 10000. 7th Pay Commission had abolished many allowances by including these through pay-hike.
Another big question is why such liberalisation is only for Supreme Court officers. It may be remembered that Supreme Court judges in the year 2016 had gifted themselves with unique post-retirement life-time facility of domestic help not only for themselves but also for their spouses even though they are given handsome pension after retirement, an unjustifiable step subsequently adopted by others getting pay in tune with Supreme Court judges.
Such privileged treatments to those at Supreme Court are not good. Supreme Court judges should also have pay, pension, perks and other post-retirement facilities like senior bureaucrats and service-chiefs. Likewise Supreme Court officers must not be given extra allowances other than those received by other government-officers.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
