Supreme Court Sends Permanent Lok Adalat Members’ Pay Representation to NALSA

The Supreme Court directed that a petition seeking higher remuneration for Permanent Lok Adalat members be treated as a representation to the National Legal Services Authority.

Background

Fourteen members challenged a payment model of about ₹2,500 per sitting, arguing that their jurisdiction and workload have expanded significantly.

Legal issue

The Bench considered the practical difficulty of ordering higher payments when grants to legal-services authorities are governed by earmarked public funding arrangements.

Court’s approach

Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the NALSA Member Secretary to place the representation before its Governing Council.

What follows

The Court did not itself fix a revised salary or declare the existing scheme invalid. The administrative authority must now examine the representation.