A high court judge salary is ₹2,25,000 a month in basic pay, fixed by Parliament in the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 as amended in 2018, with effect from 1 January 2016. A High Court Chief Justice and a Supreme Court judge draw ₹2,50,000, and the Chief Justice of India ₹2,80,000. Add Dearness Allowance at the central rate and a tax-exempt sumptuary allowance, and a High Court judge’s gross monthly pay comes to roughly ₹3.87 lakh to ₹4.55 lakh before income tax, as an estimate that depends mainly on whether the judge lives in an official residence.
Two ideas trip most readers. The first is that judges sit on a pay scale like civil servants, with yearly increments and a level number. They don’t. Each judge gets one fixed salary written into a statute, and it changes only when Parliament amends the Act. The second is that the Union pays every judge. A High Court judge’s salary actually comes from the state’s Consolidated Fund, while the pension comes from the Union’s. This note settles both, with the current figures and their legal sources.
Supreme Court and High Court Judge Salary at a Glance
The figures below come from the two salary Acts as the Department of Justice publishes them.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of India | ₹2,80,000 a month |
| Supreme Court judge | ₹2,50,000 a month |
| High Court Chief Justice | ₹2,50,000 a month |
| High Court judge | ₹2,25,000 a month |
| Effective from | 1 January 2016 (Act 10 of 2018) |
| Sumptuary allowance | CJI ₹45,000; SC judge and HC CJ ₹34,000; HC judge ₹27,000 (from 22 September 2017) |
| Residence | Rent-free official residence, or an allowance of 30% of salary since DA crossed 50% |
| Who pays salary | SC judges: Consolidated Fund of India; HC judges: the state’s Consolidated Fund |
| Last revision | W.e.f. 1 January 2016; no new proposal, per the government on 25 July 2024 |
Where the Salary Comes From
Article 125 of the Constitution says Supreme Court judges get the salaries that Parliament determines by law, and Article 221 says the same for High Court judges. Until Parliament acts, the Second Schedule’s figures apply. That’s why the Second Schedule still prints ₹10,000 for the CJI and ₹8,000 for a High Court judge, with footnotes pointing to the current amounts.
Parliament has used two Acts for this:
- the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954, whose section 13A fixes High Court salaries;
- the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958, whose section 12A fixes Supreme Court salaries.
The current figures came through the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 2018 (Act 10 of 2018). The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 21 December 2017 and passed there on 4 January 2018. It nearly tripled the salaries, backdated to 1 January 2016 so that judges moved in step with the 7th Central Pay Commission.
| Office | Before the 2018 Act | After (from 1 January 2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice of India | ₹1,00,000 | ₹2,80,000 |
| Supreme Court judge | ₹90,000 | ₹2,50,000 |
| High Court Chief Justice | ₹90,000 | ₹2,50,000 |
| High Court judge | ₹80,000 | ₹2,25,000 |
Has anything changed since? No. The Act 44 of 2021 amendment only clarified when the extra pension for elderly retired judges begins, from the first day of the month in which the pensioner reaches the qualifying age. Answering a Rajya Sabha question on 25 July 2024, the Law Ministry said the pay was last revised from 1 January 2016 and that no proposal to enhance it was under consideration. The Department of Justice’s consolidated texts of both Acts still carry the 2018 figures.
Allowances on a Judge’s Payslip
The fixed salary is only the base. Several allowances ride on top, some written into the Acts and one set by rules:
- Dearness Allowance: judges draw DA at the rate paid to All India Services officers, under rule 6 of the Supreme Court Judges Rules, 1959 and rule 2 of the High Court Judges Rules, 1956, with the Department of Justice issuing the revision orders. The central rate is 60% from 1 January 2026, under the Department of Expenditure memorandum of 22 April 2026.
- Sumptuary allowance: a monthly sum for official hospitality, ₹45,000 for the CJI down to ₹27,000 for a High Court judge. The Acts exempt it from income tax.
- House rent: a rent-free official residence. A judge who doesn’t take one gets an allowance that started at 24% of salary and steps up to 27% when DA crosses 25% and 30% when DA crosses 50%. With DA at 60%, the rate is 30%.
- Conveyance: a staff car with 200 litres of fuel a month or actual consumption, whichever is less.
- Medical facilities for the judge and family, which continue for retired Supreme Court judges under section 23C.
Under the Acts, the rent-free residence (or the allowance in its place), the conveyance, the sumptuary allowance and leave travel concession are exempt from income tax. The salary and DA are taxable like anyone else’s.
High Court Judge Salary Per Month: A Worked Illustration
Here is a High Court judge’s monthly pay in two situations. Both columns are estimates: they assume DA at the central rate of 60% and stop before income tax and provident fund, which depend on the judge’s own choices.
| Component | Official residence taken | No official residence |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | ₹2,25,000 | ₹2,25,000 |
| DA at 60% | ₹1,35,000 | ₹1,35,000 |
| Residence allowance at 30% | Nil | ₹67,500 |
| Sumptuary allowance (tax-exempt) | ₹27,000 | ₹27,000 |
| Estimated gross before tax | about ₹3,87,000 | about ₹4,54,500 |
On the same basis, salary plus DA comes to about ₹4,48,000 for the Chief Justice of India and ₹4,00,000 for a Supreme Court judge or a High Court Chief Justice. Income tax takes a large share, because a judge’s salary and DA fall in the top slab. So the in-hand figure is well below these gross numbers.
Pension and Retirement Benefits
Supreme Court judges retire at 65 and High Court judges at 62. Pension follows a scale in the Schedules to the two Acts, and the 2018 Act raised the ceilings:
- Chief Justice of India: up to ₹16,80,000 a year.
- Supreme Court judge: up to ₹15,00,000 a year.
- High Court Chief Justice: up to ₹15,00,000 a year.
- High Court judge: up to ₹13,50,000 a year.
Retired judges also get Dearness Relief, family pension and, past set ages, an additional quantum of pension. Article 125(2) adds a guarantee that matters more than any figure: a judge’s allowances, leave rights and pension can’t be varied to the judge’s disadvantage after appointment. For the procedure that ends a tenure early, see the note on removal of judges.
Why Judges’ Salaries Are Charged Expenditure
Most government spending needs a vote of Parliament every year. Judges’ salaries don’t, and that’s deliberate. The Consolidated Fund of India carries some items as “charged” expenditure, which Parliament can discuss but doesn’t vote on.
- Article 112(3)(d) charges the salaries, allowances and pensions of Supreme Court judges, and the pensions of High Court judges, on the Consolidated Fund of India.
- Article 202(3)(d) charges the salaries and allowances of High Court judges on the Consolidated Fund of the state.
So a government unhappy with a judgment can’t squeeze the court by withholding its pay. The single exception is Article 360(4)(b): during a financial emergency, the President may direct a cut in the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges. No financial emergency has ever been proclaimed. The emergency provisions note covers Article 360.
How a Lawyer or Judge Reaches the Bench
There is no exam for these posts. Judges are appointed by the President through the collegium system, explained in the note on judicial appointments, the collegium and the NJAC. The Constitution sets the eligibility:
- High Court (Article 217): ten years in a judicial office, or ten years as an advocate of a High Court.
- Supreme Court (Article 124): five years as a High Court judge, ten years as a High Court advocate, or a distinguished jurist in the President’s opinion.
Many High Court judges are promoted from the district judiciary, whose pay comes under a separate system set by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission. A district judge in the Super Time Scale tops out at ₹2,24,100, just below the High Court judge’s ₹2,25,000. Retired judges can also return to High Courts as ad hoc judges under Article 224A.
Judges Compared With Other Top Offices
The table sets the judges’ basic pay beside offices that aspirants often compare them with.
| Office | Monthly basic pay | Fixed by |
|---|---|---|
| President | ₹5,00,000 | President’s Emoluments and Pension Act, 1951, as amended in 2018 |
| Chief Justice of India | ₹2,80,000 | SC Judges Act, 1958 |
| Supreme Court judge | ₹2,50,000 | SC Judges Act, 1958 |
| Cabinet Secretary | ₹2,50,000 (Level 18) | 7th CPC pay matrix |
| High Court judge | ₹2,25,000 | HC Judges Act, 1954 |
| District Judge, Super Time Scale | up to ₹2,24,100 | SNJPC pay structure |
The CJI’s salary sits above the Cabinet Secretary’s, the highest civil-service pay in the 7th Pay Commission matrix, while a Supreme Court judge matches it. The IAS salary note shows how a civil servant climbs to Level 18 over three decades, whereas a judge’s salary is the same on the first day and the last.
Will the 8th Pay Commission Raise Judges’ Salaries?
Not directly. The 8th Pay Commission was constituted on 3 November 2025 and covers central government employees, not judges. In the past, Parliament has amended the two salary Acts after a pay commission’s report was accepted, as it did in 2018 after the 7th CPC. Expect the same route again: a new amendment Act, probably backdated, once the 8th CPC’s report is in. Until then, ₹2,25,000 remains the High Court judge’s salary in law.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the high court judge salary per month in India?
A High Court judge gets ₹2,25,000 a month in basic salary under the High Court Judges Act, 1954, as amended in 2018. With DA at 60% and the sumptuary allowance, gross monthly pay is roughly ₹3.87 lakh to ₹4.55 lakh before tax, as an estimate.
What is the salary of a Supreme Court judge?
A Supreme Court judge gets ₹2,50,000 a month and the Chief Justice of India ₹2,80,000, under the Supreme Court Judges Act, 1958. Both figures apply from 1 January 2016 under the 2018 amendment.
Who pays the salary of a High Court judge?
The state pays it. Article 202(3)(d) charges the salaries and allowances of High Court judges on the state’s Consolidated Fund. Their pensions, though, are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India under Article 112(3)(d).
When was the salary of judges last revised?
It was last revised by the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 2018, with effect from 1 January 2016. In July 2024 the Law Ministry told the Rajya Sabha that no proposal for a further increase was under consideration.
Do judges get Dearness Allowance?
Yes. Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts draw DA at the rate admissible to All India Services officers under their service rules. The central DA rate is 60% from 1 January 2026.
Can the salary of a judge be reduced?
Not to a judge’s disadvantage after appointment, under the proviso to Article 125(2). The one exception is a financial emergency under Article 360, when the President may direct a cut in the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges.
Is a judge’s salary taxable?
The salary and DA are taxable. The two salary Acts exempt the rent-free residence or the allowance in lieu of it, the conveyance facility, the sumptuary allowance and leave travel concession.
What pension does a retired High Court judge get?
Pension follows the scale in the High Court Judges Act, with a ceiling of ₹13,50,000 a year for a judge and ₹15,00,000 for a Chief Justice. Retired judges also receive Dearness Relief and family pension benefits.
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