According to the conclusions of the team, Supreme Court (SC) justices, who are on par with state ministers in order of precedence, have not been receiving the same salaries, allowances and other perks as enjoyed by state ministers and lawmakers.[break]
"This shows that the government is somehow humiliating SC justices," states the report. The SC had formed a judges´ salary review team after the government sought the judiciary´s views before amending acts relating to facilities and allowances for Supreme Court and appellate court judges.
The team led by SC Justice Kalyan Shrestha and including SC Justices Prakash Wasti and Prem Sharma and SC Joint Registrar Shreekanta Paudel concluded that district court and appellate court judges have also been receiving far less salary and perks than their counterparts in other South Asian countries.
"The allowances, other perks and facilities enjoyed by Nepali judges are far less than what their counterparts in other South Asian countries -- mainly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh -- enjoy," reads the report.
In a bid to draw the attention of the government to inform state authorities regarding the salary gap among South Asian judges, the team has clearly mentioned in the report the salary scales for judges in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The report shows that the chief justice of Pakistan has been receiving a net monthly salary of Pakistani Rs 256,000 while justices there receive a net monthly salary of PRs 200,000.
In India, as the report points out, the chief justice has been drawing a monthly net salary of Indian Rs 100,000 while other supreme court justices there have been receiving a net salary of IRs 90,000.
According to the report, the chief justice of Bangladesh receives a monthly net salary of Tk 56,000 and other judges enjoy a slightly lower salary scale.
Compared to these three countries, Nepali judges including SC justices and appellate and district court judges receive very low salaries.
The Chief Justice of Nepal has been drawing a monthly net salary of Rs 37,000 while other SC justices get a net monthly salary of Rs 29,000.
The salary scale of appellate and district court judges is even lower. "The salary scale among South Asian judges clearly shows where Nepali judges stand" said one of the members of the study team referring anonymity, adding," We have not asked the government to increase our salary and other perks directly but have given a strong message in favor of salary increment."
Another member of the study team said that the government has been treating judges as less than state ministers and lawmakers.
"Our contribution is not less than any lawmaker or state minister´s," said a member.
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