Rules notified for providing drivers, help to ex-CJs, judges

The Haryana Government on Friday notified rules for providing facility of domestic help, driver, secretarial assistance, security and telephone facility to retired chief justices, judges and their spouses. A notification issued by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi framed the Retired Chief Justices and Judges Domestic Help(s) and other Benefits Rules, 2025, which “applies to a person who has held office either as chief justice or as a judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and their spouses”. “To enable the retired chief justice/judge or their spouses, to engage domestic help(s)/driver(s), the high court shall provide a consolidated amount of Rs 45,000 per month to a retired judge or spouse and Rs 50,000 per month to a retired chief justice or spouse,” the notification said. Besides, the retired chief justice/judge or spouse shall also be paid Rs 15,000 per month towards the expenses of rental and calls of mobile phones and/or landline, Internet services, secretarial services and security service. However, there are certain conditions for availing these services such as that “they are not availing such or similar facility from any other High Court.” The rules clarified that they would not be entitled to these facilities during the tenure of their appointments or assignments to any office, post or assignment except where such appointments did not provide these facilities. The retired chief justice/judge or their spouse may, at her or his discretion, select persons to be engaged as domestic help(s)/driver(s). A provision of “secondment” has also been made under the rules. It stated: “The retired Chief Justice/ Judge or their spouse may request to avail the services of maximum of two employees working in Last Grade Service of the High Court, one of whom may be a driver”. The rules said: “If any employee working in Last Grade Service of the High Court furnishes to the Registrar General of the High Court, a request in writing to serve a retired chief justice/ judge or their spouses, and the services of such employee(s) is/ are acceptable to the retired chief justice/judge or their spouse, then they may be seconded to work with the retired chief justice/ judge or their spouse until the employee(s) attain(s) the age of superannuation and/ or so long as the retired chief justice/judge or their spouse is entitled to this facility. It is made clear that if employees of the High Court are seconded, the retired chief justice/judge or their spouse, are not entitled to full reimbursement as stipulated in Rule-7 if two employees are provided by the High Court or 50% of the reimbursement mentioned in Rule-7 if only one employee of the High Court is provided. The said secondment shall be at the discretion of the Chief Justice and subject to the availability of staff”.

Haryana Tribune