Madras High Court bats for home guards

Court hopes their pay will be revised as in the case of police personnel

The Madras High Court on Tuesday impressed upon the government the need for laying down an objective criteria for engaging some home guards (those who volunteer to assist the police) for only 10 days in a month and others, for more number of days. Since such engagement was the only source of livelihood for many volunteers, the court hoped the government would revise their daily rates whenever the salary of police personnel gets revised.

Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu made the observations while disposing of a public interest litigation petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party,State president K. Annamalai early this year. The petitioner, a former Indian Police Service officer, had challenged a September 19, 2019 Government Order through which engagement of home guards in the State was restricted to only 10 days in a month.

After recording the submissions made by Government Counsel C. Harsha Raj that the daily rates paid to home guards were more in the nature of a honorarium than compensation since it was a completely voluntary service, the judges said: “However, in view of the lack of employment opportunities, there are several men and women who treat their engagement as home guard as their source of income and sustain their families with the income.”