Supreme Court Directs Odisha Govt To Reconsider Home Guards' Salary

Supreme Court Directs Odisha Govt To Reconsider Home Guards’ Salary

Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court has directed the Odisha government to reconsider its decision of paying Rs 9,000 per month to the Home Guards working for more than 15 years.

The bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna issued the direction while hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by the state government against Orissa High Court’s order on August 19, 2020.

“To pay Rs 9,000 per month is nothing but an exploitation. How can a Home Guard personnel survive and maintain his family members on monthly payment of Rs 9,000 when he is performing almost the same/similar duties performed by other police personnel?” the LiveLaw quoted the bench as stating while asking the state to reconsider its decision.

The bench further noted that it was not in dispute that the Home Guards in Odisha were being paid Rs 9,000 per month at the rate of Rs 300 per day and that other police personnel were getting around Rs 21,700 (after six years of their contractual appointment) as per the recommendations made by the Seventh Pay Commission.

The Home Guards, who were working under the state’s Home Department for more than 10 years, had filed a writ petition in the High Court, seeking direction to the government to disburse their salary as per the direction of the apex court in a case filed by Home Guards Welfare Association of Himachal Pradesh.

A Single Judge Bench of the High Court had directed the state government to implement the recommendation of the Directorate General (Fire Service, Home Guards, Civil Defence), Odisha for payment at the minimum sum of Rs 533 per day taking into consideration the remuneration paid to the constables from November 10, 2016 and pending decision thereon, to pay them provisionally at the rate of minimum Rs 500 per day from January, 2020.

The state had approached the Division Bench of the High Court Against the Single Judge’s order. While considering the writ appeal, the Division Bench had affirmed the view taken by the Single Judge of discarding State’s argument that payment of daily allowance of Rs 500 would be in excess to the present remuneration of the contractual constables recruited at initial stage.

The state government had moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order.