VG honorarium issue: HC issues ‘show cause’ to Additional CS

August 7, 2023 34 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Kohima | August 7

The Kohima High Court Kohima Bench, on August 4, issued a show cause notice to Additional Chief Secretary (CS) and Finance Commissioner (FC) Nagaland asking as to why appropriate proceedings should not be drawn up for non compliance of the Courts order dated December 5, 2022 as and March 14, 2023.

Hearing a contempt petition regarding the monthly honorarium to Village Guards (VGs), Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita directed the Additional CS Sentiyanger Imchen to reply within a period of four weeks from August 4.

The December 5 order directed the Nagaland Government is to re-constitute the expert committee to examine the monthly honorarium to VGs of Nagaland in compliance.

On March 14, on being informed that an Expert Committee has been re-constituted on 28/2/2023 as directed by the December 5 order, the Court had directed the (re-constituted) Committee to proceed in terms of the directions passed by the Division Bench of the Court within a period of three months from the date of its re-constitution of the Expert Committee.

Thereafter, Imchen, the Chairman of the Expert Committee and Additional CS & Finance Commissioner, was directed to file compliance affidavit on or before June 5.

Accordingly, during the hearing on August 4, Justice Kalita observed that the March 14 order “clearly mentions the outer limit as 5/6/2023 within which” the Chairman of the Expert Committee was supposed to file the compliance affidavit.

It also appears this matter was listed again on June 6 and today, however, except the oral submission made by the Additional Advocate General (AG) no other steps have been taken by the counsel for the Chairman before, he noted.

“Hence, prima facie there appears to be non compliance of the direction passed by this Court on 14/3/2023 as well as 5/12/2022,” read the order issued by the Justice Kalita.

Unless this Court’s order are implemented and followed, the efficacy of Court’s order would not be there and in view of that Additional CS is directed to “show cause as to why appropriate proceedings should not be drawn up for non compliance” of two orders, it added.

Earlier, senior counsel for the petitioner Taka Masa submitted that though in an expert Committee was re-constituted but the Additional CS has neither filed any compliance affidavit within the time prescribed nor file any Interlocutory application for extension of time for compliance.

On the other hand, Additional AG Imti Imsong submitted that he is appearing in this case for the first time as it was case was handled by some other counsel and prayed for some time to take necessary steps required to comply with the March 14 direction.

However, the Judge held that prima facie there appears to be non compliance of the direction passed by the Court.

Listing the matter for further hearing on September 11, the Court order stated that it is “expected that before the next date of listing of this case, the respondent No.2 (Additional CS) shall comply with the order of this Court passed on 5/12/2022 as well as 14/3/2023.”

Case background
The present case pertains to a writ petition filed by the Village Guards Association of Nagaland (VGAN) regarding the enhancement of their honorarium in 2017.

As per Court records, the salary of VGs in Nagaland was then fixed at Rs 1500 per month with ration allowance of Rs 25 per day while on duty and yearly clothing allowance of Rs 500.

Accordingly, observing that the VG’s salary is too meagre to meet the basic minimum needs of a person even in the remotest village of Nagaland, a HC Bench in a judgment order dated 19.11.2017 directed the State Government to “examine and raise the same to a reasonable level but no less than that of the Home Guards of the State.” The Home Guards’ salary then was Rs 520 per day.

While a two-month period was given to the State Government to complete the exercise, the latter filed an appeal against the judgment.

Thereafter, a Division Bench of the Court on 07.02.2019 directed the State Government to constitute an Expert Committee to examine and determine the issue in consultation with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (Northeast Division).

A time-frame of four months was given to complete the exercise.

While an 8-member committee was constituted to examine the issue, with no positive outcome, the VGAN filed the contempt petition in February 2022.