The whole of the pay, allowances and benefits attaching to the holding of an office.

Why does the Constitution protect the emoluments of judges?

Because remuneration that the executive could reduce during a judge's tenure would give it leverage over the judiciary, so fixing emoluments is a safeguard of judicial independence.

Emolument

noun (countable, usually plural: emoluments)

/ɪˈmɒljʊmənt/

The salary, fees, perquisites, or other financial benefits arising from employment or office. In the Indian Constitution, the emoluments of constitutional functionaries — including the President (Article 59), Governors (Article 158), Supreme Court judges (Article 125), and Election Commissioners — are charged to the Consolidated Fund of India or the Consolidated Fund of the State, making them non-votable to insulate them from legislative pressure.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Article 125 provides that the salary and other emoluments of Supreme Court judges shall be determined by Parliament by law, and until so determined, shall be as specified in the Second Schedule, ensuring judicial financial security.

Synonyms

salaryremunerationcompensationpayperquisitesrecompense

Antonyms

expenseslevychargepenalty

🌱 Word Family

emolumentary (rare adjective), remuneration (cognate concept noun), molest (distant cognate)

🔡 Root

Latin emolumentum (gain, advantage) ← emolere (to grind out) ← ex- (out) + molere (to grind)

📜 Etymology

From Latin emolumentum, originally the miller's fee (paid in meal ground out), derived from emolere (to grind out). The metaphor of grinding out a benefit generalised to any profit from labour or office. Entered English in the 15th century through legal and ecclesiastical usage.

🧠 Memory Hook

EMOLUMENT = E-MOLUMENT: imagine a miller grinding (MOLE = grind, as in molecular grinding) — the grain he grinds out is his fee. Your emolument is what you grind out (earn) from your work.

🎯 How This Word Works in UPSC Writing

A formal word for the pay and allowances attaching to an office, and it turns up in constitutional provisions protecting judicial and constitutional functionaries from having their remuneration varied to their disadvantage during tenure. That protection is the examinable idea: fixing emoluments beyond the reach of the executive is an independence safeguard, not a pay detail.

⚖️ Don’t Confuse It With

Emolument is the total compensation attached to the office itself. Salary is the periodic payment. Honorarium is a payment for services where no fee is legally required. Perquisite is a benefit in kind attaching to the post. Constitutional text prefers emolument precisely because it is the widest of the four.

🇮🇳 Hindi Meaning

उपलब्धि (uplabdhi) in constitutional Hindi; परिलब्धियाँ (parilabdhiyān) is the common plural for pay and allowances.

❓ Common Questions

What are emoluments?: The whole of the pay, allowances and benefits attaching to the holding of an office.
Why does the Constitution protect the emoluments of judges?: Because remuneration that the executive could reduce during a judge's tenure would give it leverage over the judiciary, so fixing emoluments is a safeguard of judicial independence.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Preamble of the Indian Constitution

Relevant across:GS2 · Polity, Governance & IR

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