Safiya Malik

The High Court of Tripura has directed the state government to extend enhanced Kit Maintenance Allowance, Annual Dress Allowance, and Ration Money Allowance to Warders and Head Warders of the Jail Department, ensuring parity with personnel in the Police, Forest, and Fire Services departments. The court held that the exclusion of jail staff from revised benefits violated constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination under Articles 14 and 16. The ruling mandates implementation by February 2025 but denies arrears, citing delays in legal recourse.

The petitioners, a Warder and Head Warder employed under Tripura’s Home (Jail) Department, sought parity in allowances with counterparts in the Police Department. Their petition cited a June 15, 2017, Finance Department notification that initially standardized allowances for uniformed personnel across departments, including Police, Fire Services, Jails, Home Guards, Excise, and Forest. Under this notification, Warders and Head Warders received Kit Maintenance Allowance (Rs. 300/month) and Ration Allowance (Rs. 800/month).

Subsequent notifications on January 18, 2020, and November 27, 2024, enhanced Annual Dress Allowance to Rs. 7,500/year and Ration Money Allowance to Rs. 2,000/month for police personnel. However, these revisions were not extended to jail staff. The petitioners argued that their roles—akin to Constables and Head Constables in the police—warranted equal treatment. They submitted representations to the Inspector General of Prisons and the Finance Department, but the latter declined the proposal under Note No. 26, stating: “The Finance Department regrets the proposal of the Department… on the pattern of State Police personnel.”

A review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on October 7, 2021, acknowledged the need to “boost morale” by aligning allowances but did not result in policy changes. The petitioners then approached the court, alleging arbitrary exclusion.

The state, represented by the Additional Government Advocate, did not contest the factual parity between jail staff and police personnel but relied on the Finance Department’s discretionary authority to deny enhancements.

The court examined the 2017 notification, noting that Warders and Head Warders were explicitly grouped with police personnel under clauses 3.1.8 and 3.1.12. Justice Arindam Lodh observed: “Employees under the Home (Jail) Department are placed at equal pedestals along with uniformed Police personnel… I find no reason to exclude Warders and Head Warders from the benefit of revised rates.”

The judgment noted the state’s failure to justify differential treatment: “The Finance Department… could not show any reason as to why Warders and Head Warders would not be provided similar benefits.” It further stated: “Exclusion… is illegal, arbitrary, and discriminatory… violative of Articles 14 and 16.”

The court rejected the state’s reliance on administrative discretion, noting that the 2017 notification created a statutory entitlement. It clarified that the judgment applies universally to all Warders and Head Warders, calling it a “judgment in rem and not in persona.”

Arrears were denied, with the court noting: “The petitioners could have come earlier. Accordingly, this prayer stands rejected.”

The court ordered the state to implement the enhanced allowances—Rs. 7,500/year for Annual Dress Allowance and Rs. 2,000/month for Ration Money Allowance—by February 2025. The directive states: “The respondents shall extend the benefits… at par with personnel of Police, Forest, and Fire Service departments… latest by the end of February 2025.”

Case Title: Sri Siddhartha Chakraborty & Anr. vs. The State of Tripura & Ors.
Case Number: WP(C) 581 of 2024
Bench: Justice Arindam Lodh

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