Delhi HC Directs Delhi Govt To Pass Order on Implementation Of Revised Wages Of Prisoners Within 3 Weeks [Read Order]

The Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh has further directed the Delhi Government to submit a status report on this issue before the next date of hearing.

The order has come in a writ petition filed by Nitin Verma, wherein it was claimed that the prisoners are still being paid wages at rates fixed in 2014 despite the revision of wages coming into effect from June 2019.

The Petitioner was aggrieved by the the fact that on 20.06.2019, Delhi Government issued a communication revising the standardized rates of per day wages for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled categories and despite the passage of one year, the order has not been implemented with respect to the Petitioner and the other under-trials and convicts housed in jails.

Appearing for the Delhi Government, ASC Sanjoy Ghose submitted that the government has an Opinion from the Labour Department regarding the applicability of the minimum wages to the prisoners, both convicts and under-trials, under the existing Labour laws.

Delhi Government further submitted that:

'Based on the Opinion so received, on 01.06.2020, a Final Proposal for implementation of the Communication dated 20.06.2019, has been sent by the Prisons Department to the Home Department and the Respondents are hopeful that by mid-July, 2020, grievance of the Petitioner would be redressed and he and the others would start receiving the benefits of the revised wages.'

The court will next take up this matter on July 24

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