Supreme Court summons CS, FS of 22 states, including Northeast, to appear in person for non-compliance with SNJPC | India News – Times of India

AGARTALA: The High Council Thursday summoned the Chief Secretary and the Secretary of Finance of Tripura, along with 21 others, including those from the northeastern states, to appear in person before the non-compliance to the Second National Commission on Legal Payments (SNJPC).
“The chief and the finance ministers must appear in person. If they fail to do so, the court will be forced to initiate contempt proceedings,” SC warned.
Officials here said a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra has issued notices to West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, besides the northeastern states.
The Supreme Court has come out strongly against the manner in which states have failed to comply with the report on payment of arrears of pensions and other retirement benefits to the judicial officers.
The SC bench said in its observation: “We are aware of the tactics being used to avoid compliance. Simply requesting the presence of the Chief Secretary for filing an affidavit does not guarantee that it will be filed. We have no intention of jailing anyone, but their physical presence often expedites the affidavit process.”
The court stressed that despite giving states seven opportunities to address the issue, full compliance remains elusive. Several states now face possible charges of contempt of court, it added.