A division of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the Centre to explain "why extra allowances are allowed to MPs."
Issuing notices to the Centre through the Cabinet Secretary, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha Secretariats and the Ministry of Law and Justice, the court sought their responses by January 23, 2013.
The PIL was filed by B N P Singh, a retired Wing Commander and General Secretary of civil society group Veteran's Forum for Transparency in Public Life challenging some provisions of the salary, allowances, pension of Members of Parliament Act.
The PIL sought a direction to "quash some provisions of the Salary, Allowances, Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 and the rules made thereunder in this regard as being unconstitutional and ultra vires to the constitution of India."