The Bill to amend judges’ salaries and services acts to bring clarity concerning the date of eligibility of additional quantum of pension to a retired judge will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Monday after it was passed by the Lok Sabha .
The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on November 30, 2021 by the Union law minister Kiren Rijiju and it seeks to amend the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954, and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958, which together regulate the salaries and conditions of service of the judges of high courts and the Supreme Court of India.
According to PRS Legislative Research, the Bill clarifies that a person will be entitled to the additional pension or family pension from the first day of the month in which they complete the minimum age under the concerned age bracket. The scale contains five age brackets (with a minimum age of 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100 years), and the additional quantum increases with age (from 20% to 100% of the pension or family pension).
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Lok Sabha for consideration and passage and it seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated on September 30 this year.
The Bill was introduced in the Lower House last week. The Bill amends the 1985 NDPS Act which regulates the manufacture, transport and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The Bill corrects a drafting error made in a previous amendment which made it impossible to apply a key provision dealing with the punishment of those financing illicit drug trafficking.
In 2014, the Act was amended and the clause number of the definition for such illicit activities was changed. However, the section on penalty for financing these illicit activities was not amended and continued to refer to the earlier clause number of the definition. The Bill amends the section on the penalty to change the reference to the new clause number.
As many as 20 leaders from the Opposition parties are scheduled to move a resolution against the Bill. Leaders opposing the Bill include Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, Trinamool Congress’s Saugata Roy and Biju Janata Dal’s Bhartruhari Mahtab. The Bill and the resolution against the Bill were on the agenda of the Lok Sabha on Friday as well.