Islamabad: The federal government has approved significant salary and allowance increases for judges in the superior judiciary, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Thursday.
The newly issued notification outlines a substantial increase in the housing allowance for Supreme Court judges, with a rise from Rs68,000 to Rs350,000.
“In the Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension, and Privileges) Order, 1997, hereinafter referred to as the said Order, in paragraph 20, in sub-paragraph (2), for the words ‘sixty-eight thousand,’ the words ‘three hundred fifty thousand’ shall be substituted,” the notification read.
Additionally, the notification confirms an increase in the superior judicial allowance, which has been raised from Rs428,040 to Rs1,161,163.
Similar changes apply to high court judges, whose housing allowance has been adjusted from Rs65,000 to Rs350,000, while the judicial allowance has been increased from Rs342,431 to Rs1,090,000.
The notification, issued after approval by Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, comes shortly after the recent parliamentary approval of the Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to expand the number of Supreme Court judges from 16 to a potential 34.
According to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, this expansion aims to address the backlog of cases and to ensure that the Supreme Court can meet evolving judicial needs. “This amendment will enable the Court to handle the growing litigation burden more efficiently,” he said, emphasizing the importance of establishing additional constitutional benches after the 26th Amendment.
