asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many British judges and civil servants have been compulsorily retired from service in India consequent on the passing of the Government of India Act; what were their respective grades and ages; what are the form and amounts, respectively, of compensation which will be made to them for loss of office or transfer of function; and when will these amounts be paid.

No British judges not members of the Indian Civil Service have yet been compulsorily retired as a result of the passing of the Indian Independence Act. The number of British civil servants who have so far claimed compensation or resettlement grant under Command Paper 7116 for the compulsory termination of their appointments as a result of that Act is 778 and of these 732 have already been paid.

The officers concerned include members of all the Secretary of State's Services and cover the various grades of those Services. Their ages range from 27 to 55 in the case of the Indian Civil Service and from 25 to 52 in the case of the other Services. The scales of compensation admissible to them are set out in Table I of the Command Paper.

Does that answer cover the case of judges who retired under Section 10 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, and, if so, having regard to the long time that has elapsed since the judges left India and Pakistan, can my hon. Friend say what steps are being taken to implement the rights given to the judges by Section To (2, b)?

I would like notice of so detailed a question as that.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a certain amount of anxiety about this matter? There are certain judges and others who have retired, not compulsorily, but owing to the conditions that now prevail, and does not he agree that it is very desirable that satisfactory arrangements should be made for these particular individuals?

Yes, Sir, I quite recognise that there is anxiety on this matter. There is the difficult problem of people retiring under different conditions.

Has the Minister based his reply to my original Question on the word "compulsorily" in the Question, and does his reply apply to those judges who exercise their option to retire under Section 10?

I based my answer to the Question on the terms of the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations how many of the British judges and civil servants compulsorily retired from service in India consequent on the passing of the Government of India Act have been or will be found other work in Government service in other parts of the British Commonwealth of Nations or Colonies; what type of work they have been or will be so found respectively; and what are their respective age groups.

The number of British civil servants compulsorily retired as a result of the Indian Independence Act, to which I presume that my hon. and learned Friend intended to refer, who are known so far to have found further employment in Government service in other parts of the British Commonwealth and Colonies is 226. The Majority of these officers are employed in the various branches of the Home, Foreign and Colonial Services. Their ages range between 21–60.

It is not possible to state how many more will eventually secure employment of the kind referred to, but there is every reason to think that a substantial number will do so.

Can the Minister say what provision is being made for the judges who have so retired, pending the finding of new appointments for them?

I do not think that any provision has been made, pending the finding of new employment for them.

Will my hon. Friend proceed with caution in this matter so far as the placing of these officers in the Colonies is concerned, because it does not necessarily follow that long training in Indian administration will fit them for the type of Colonial work we want to see?

Naturally, we will not put people into work for which they are not properly equipped.

If, as stated by the Minister just now, no provision is being made for these judges who have retired, would it not be right and just that some provision should be made for them pending the finding of new appointments for them?

Yes, I can see the point of that. Perhaps my hon. Friend would put down a specific Question on that matter.