In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has mandated the Maharashtra government to enforce the Shetty Commission’s recommendations regarding the pay scales for stenographers in district courts. This directive arose from the case Rajendra Ramaji Dhawale & Ors v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.
The Shetty Commission, formally known as the first National Judicial Pay Commission and chaired by Justice K Jagannatha Shetty, was established to enhance the compensation and service conditions for judicial officers and court staff throughout India. The Division Bench, comprising Justices Kishore C Sant and Sushil M Ghodeswar, expressed dissatisfaction with the State’s recurring attempts to postpone proceedings initiated by 37 stenographers from various district and sessions courts across Maharashtra.
“This Court has recorded the conduct of the Government in making attempts to get the petition adjourned from time to time,” the Bench observed. Given the State’s own resolutions endorsing the Shetty Commission’s recommendations, the Court instructed the government to apply these recommendations retroactively from April 1, 2003.
“The State is directed to implement the recommendations of the Shetty Commission from April 1, 2003, and the difference of salaries be paid within six months from today,” the Court decreed.
Additionally, the Court stipulated that any arrears be disbursed with an annual interest rate of six percent, effective from October 7, 2009. “For the conduct recorded above, the arrears be paid along with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the order passed by the Apex Court dated October 7, 2009,” the order stated.
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The petitioners, stenographers from districts including Chandrapur, Nagpur, Jalna, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Beed, Solapur, Satara, Yavatmal, and Sangli, had approached the Court in 2015 to demand the implementation of the Shetty Commission’s recommendations from April 1, 2003, in alignment with the Supreme Court’s directives.
The Supreme Court had, on October 7, 2009, instructed all States to execute the Shetty Commission’s recommendations. Subsequently, the Maharashtra government issued a Government Resolution (GR) on October 20, 2011, confirming that the recommendations would be effective from April 1, 2003. However, a later GR dated September 15, 2018, aimed at correcting discrepancies in the 2011 GR, omitted the implementation date, leading to the State’s argument that the benefits would only apply from September 15, 2018.
The petition faced multiple adjournments, with the Court remarking on February 29, 2024, that the State was “killing time” by continuously seeking delays. In its June 12 verdict, the Court criticized the State’s behavior, stating, “It is only when some benefits are to be given to the employees or when salaries are to be paid to the employees, time is taken and adjournments are sought for and the matters are delayed.”
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The State contended that the petitioners insisted on the Shetty Commission’s recommendations when the 5th pay commission scale was allegedly more advantageous. It also maintained that the 2018 GR applied only prospectively. However, the Court dismissed these arguments, clarifying that the 2018 GR was solely for rectifying discrepancies in the 2011 GR, not altering the effective date of benefits.
Representing the petitioners were Advocates Pradnya S Talekar and SB Talekar, while Government Pleader AB Girase appeared for the State. Advocate Mukul Kulkarni represented the High Court administration.
