New Delhi: The Supreme Court has rejected the plea of six Mumbai additional chief metropolitan magistrates (ACMMs) seeking elevation of the cadre of ACMMs to that of district judge instead of the present civil judge (senior division).

The ACMMs argued through senior advocate Ram Jethmalani that the apex court's decision to reject the recommendations of the Shetty commission and put both the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) and chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) in the cadre of civil judge (senior division) has resulted in their demotion.

Jethmalani argued that the ACMMs have served as civil judge (senior division) for a long time before being promoted as additional chief metropolitan magistrates and instead of getting the district judge cadre if they were put back in the same cadre, it would result in demotion and loss of seniority.

A bench comprising chief justice V N Khare, justice S Rajendra Babu and justice S S M Quadri said the earlier order was given after hearing all parties and there was no merit in the plea of the ACMMs that it would result in loss of seniority.

On the directions of the Supreme Court, the government had constituted first National Judicial Pay Commission headed by justice K J Shetty to evolve principles, which would govern the pay and other emoluments of officers in subordinate judiciary.

Shetty commission submitted its report on November 11, 1999 in which one of the recommendations was that the chief judicial magistrate should be in the cadre of civil judge and the chief metropolitan magistrate should be placed in the cadre of district judge.

The apex court, after perusing affidavits by the states and the union government, rejected the recommendations relating to chief judicial magistrate and chief metropolitan magistrate terming it as "neither proper nor practical".

The Supreme Court had said, "Considering the nature and duties of the chief judicial magistrate and the chief metropolitan magistrate, the only difference being their locations, these two posts have to be equated and they have to be placed in the cadre of civil judge (senior division)."

"There is no reason given by the Shetty commission as to why the post of CMM be manned by the district judge, especially when as far as the posts of the CJM are concerned, whose duties are at par with CMM, the Shetty commission has recommended, and in our opinion rightly, that they should be filled amongst the civil judges (senior division)," the court had said while giving its final verdict in the All India Judges' Association case.

PTI