Judges who served in fast track courts entitled for retiral benefits: SC

The Supreme Court today ruled that judicial officers, who have rendered their services as fast track court judges, were entitled to pensionery and retiral benefits.

The top court, said the Fast Track Court Scheme was brought in to deal with the exigency of huge pendency of cases and the judicial officers in Jharkhand were appointed to the such courts who continued to work for almost a decade.

A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul said "the need to set up Fast Track courts arose on account of delays in the judicial process, targeting certain priority areas for quicker adjudication".

Had there been adequate cadre strength of judicial officers, there would have been no need to set up these Fast Track courts, it said.

"We are, thus, unhesitatingly and unequivocally of the view that all the appellants and Judicial Officers identically situated are entitled to the benefit of the period of service rendered as Fast Track court Judges, to be counted for their length of service in determination of their pension and retiral benefits," the bench said.

The first preference for appointment as judges of fast track courts is given to ad hoc promotions from amongst the eligible judicial officers, while the second preference was given to retired judges who had good service records. The third preference envisaged was to the members of the Bar for direct appointment to these courts.

Dealing with the case, the top court said that judicial officers in Jharkhand, who were appointed to the fast track courts after the state was carved out of Bihar on November 25, 2000, did not get the job "at the whims and fancy of any person, but were next in line on the merit list of a judicial recruitment process."