2-fold salary hike for poll commissioners

New Delhi, January 17

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The salary of the three election commissioners is set to see an over two-fold hike in the coming weeks. The three commissioners, including the Chief Election Commissioner, are entitled to a salary which is “equal to the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court”, according to the provisions of a law governing their conditions of service.

A Bill to hike the salary of Supreme Court and high court judges was passed by the Lok Sabha in the recently concluded winter session. The bill is likely to be taken up by the Rajya Sabha in the Budget session beginning January 29.

Once the Bill gets the assent of the President and becomes a law, the Chief Justice of India will get a monthly salary of Rs 2.80 lakh from the present Rs 1 lakh. Similarly, judges of the Supreme Court and chief justices of the high courts will draw a monthly salary of Rs 2.50 lakh, up from current Rs 90,000. The judges of the high courts, who get Rs 80,000 per month now, will get Rs 2.25 lakh per month.

The three election commissioners will automatically get a salary hike once the Bill to increase the salary of judges becomes a law, a senior law ministry functionary said. Like Supreme Court judges and chief justices of the high courts, the commissioners will also get a monthly salary of Rs 2.50 lakh, he said.

According to section 3 of the ‘Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business)] Act, 1991’, “There shall be paid to the Chief Election Commissioner (and other Election Commissioners) a salary which is equal to the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court."

The salary of Supreme Court and high court judges is governed by the ‘High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act’. PTI