New Delhi [India], October 29 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered that law researchers (LRs) engaged with the court be paid their enhanced remuneration of Rs 80,000 per month retrospectively from October 1, 2022.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta, which disposed of a petition filed by several law researchers seeking the implementation of the salary hike and payment of arrears.
In its order, the Bench stated, "Accordingly, it is held that the enhancement would be payable to the law researchers who were engaged by this Court with effect from October 01, 2022."
The petitioners, who worked with various judges of the Delhi High Court between 2018 and 2025, had approached the court after the approved increase in their remuneration remained unimplemented despite clearance from the Chief Justice and the High Court administration.
The plea highlighted that in 2023, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court had approved an increase in the monthly remuneration of law researchers from Rs 65,000 to Rs 80,000, but the Delhi government failed to enforce the order, resulting in an extended delay.
The petitioners argued that the inaction was arbitrary and unfair, especially since law researchers play a vital role in assisting judges with legal research, drafting, and case preparation, often working beyond regular hours.
Earlier this year, the High Court had sought a response from the Delhi government after noting the prolonged delay in implementing the approved pay hike.
The Bench observed that law researchers contribute significantly to the judicial process and that their remuneration should reflect the importance of their work. The court had remarked that while the Chief Justice had approved the hike and the High Court administration had cleared it, the government's inaction had stalled its execution.
According to the petition, multiple representations and Right to Information (RTI) applications were filed in 2024, revealing that the proposal for the salary hike had been pending with the government since September 2023. The petitioners alleged that crucial details were withheld under exemption clauses and that bureaucratic hurdles in the Finance and Law Departments delayed the process.
The plea also outlined the history of salary revisions for law researchers over the years, from Rs 25,000 initially, raised to Rs 35,000 in 2017, Rs 50,000 in 2018, Rs 65,000 in 2019, and finally Rs 80,000 approved in 2022. The petitioners relied on Article 229 of the Constitution, which empowers High Courts to regulate the conditions of service of their employees, arguing that once the Chief Justice had approved the hike, the Delhi government was bound to implement it.
In earlier hearings, Justice C. Hari Shankar had noted that law researchers often work longer hours than judges and that their pay remained significantly lower than that of their counterparts in the Supreme Court. He observed that the nearly two-year delay in implementing the approved hike was unjustified.