\i)GOVERNMENTOFlAMMU AND KASHMIR,

HOMEDEPARTMENT,CivilSecretariat,lammu

Sub:- SWP No. 1201/2018 titled Swarn Singh and ors. v.State of l &K.

Ref:-i) Order dated 06.06.2018 passed by the Hon'ble HighCourt in IA No. 01/2018 titled Swarn Singh and ors. V.State of l&K.

ii) Representation dated nil filed by the petitioner.

Govt. Order NO.1Q~- Home-(Relief) of 2019Dated: 2..K -1-2019

1) Whereas, the Hon'ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh atJabalpur vide judgment dated 02.12.2011 passed in clubbedmatters, lead case titled Home Guard Sainik Evam Parivar KalyanSangh and others vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and another, WritPetition No. 10000 of 2010 was pleased to , inter-alia, direct asunder:

" ...b) all the employees working in the HomeGuards department and who are petitionersbefore this Court, so also other similarly situatedpersons, who may have not filed writ petitions,be granted salary at the minimum/basic of thepay prescribed for the lowest post i.e....constable in the police department, without anyrunning pay scale, allowances etc.

(c) All the employees would be entitled to theminimum of the pay scale i.e.... the basic of thepay, as is payable to a constable in the policedepartment, and the said benefit shall beextended to the employees with effect from1.1.2011.

(d) The employees would be paid the aforesaidamount with revision of basic pay, if any, in thecorresponding police department from time totime hereafter, till a final scheme or regular rulesand regulations are not formulated for working inthe Home Guards organization.

(e) Apart from the aforesaid, the system ofcalling of duty shall be done away with and the

otnerwise entitled to work in accordance tolaw..."

2) Whereas, subsequently, the Hon'ble Supreme Court whiledealing with the identical issue disposed of Civil Appeal No.2759/2015 titled Grah Rakshak, Home Guards Welfare AssociationVsState of H.P & ors c/w a bunch of identical Civil Appeals by acommon judgment dated 11.03.2015. The operative part of thesaid order is reproduced as under:-

" .... In view of the discussions made above, norelief can be granted to the appellants eitherregularization of services or grant of regularappointments hence no interference is called foragainst the judgments passed by the HimachalPradesh, Punjab and Delhi High Courts.However, taking into consideration the fact thatHome Guards are used during the emergencyand for other purposes, and at the time of theirduty, they are empowered with the power ofPolice personnel, we are of the view that theState Governments should pay them the dutyallowance at such rates, total of which 30 days(a month) come to minimum of the pay to whichthe police personnel of State are entitled. It isexpected that State Governments shall passappropriate orders in terms of aforesaidobservations on an early date preferable withinthree months'~

3) Whereas, several writ petitions on the same subject werefiled by some petitioners in the Hon'ble High Court of J&K whichwere disposed of by the Hon'ble High Court of J&K by a commonjudgment dated 11.12.2015 passed in SWP No. 1257/2002, MPNo. 1089/2002, c/w identical SWP Nos. 859/2002 & 928/2002titled Suman Sharma and others Ws State and other. Theoperative part of the said judgment is reproduced as under:-

"..... Following the said judgment, these writpetitions are disposed off with a direction to theState respondents to pay the petitioners theduty allowance at such rates, total of which 30days (a month) comes to minimum of the pay towhich the police personnel of State are entitled.Necessary orders in this regard be passed withina period of two months from the date of copy ofthis order is received. No Costs."

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4) Whereas, one more SWP No. 1201/2018 titled Swarn Singhand others VS. State of J&Kwas filed in the Hon'ble High Courtof J&K and the Hon'ble Court passed an interim order dated06.06.2018, which is reproduced hereunder:-

"Meanwhile, learned counsel for the petitionersshall file a representation before the respondentNo. 1 & 2, projecting their claims within a week'stime and upon receiving the same, they shallconsider and decide the representation within aperiod of (10) days positively by passing aspeaking order having regard judgment passedby High Court of Madhya Pradesh in writ petitionbearing No. 10000/2010 titled "Home GuardSank Evam Parivar Kalyaan Sang and others VsState of Madhya Pradesh and another". Acertified copy of this order along with aforesaidjudgment and representation be furnished bythe petitioners to the respondent No. 1&2, so asto enable them to take a decision in the matter."

5) Whereas, in pursuance of the aforesaid interim order of theHon'ble High Court dated 06.06.2018, the petitioners submitted arepresentation dated nil to the Home Department in which arequest has been made to consider the following demands:-

i) Payment of wages to Home Guard volunteerscommensurating to the regular pay/grade ofConstable in Police Department.

ii) Duties be assigned to the Home GuardVolunteers for full 30 days throughout the year.

i) Home Guard Volunteers be given preferencefor enrolment/recruitment as Constable inSDRF.

6) Whereas, the matter was examined in light of the relevantrecords and it was observed that in compliance to the Apex Courtjudgment dated 11.03.2015 read with the judgment of Hon'bleHigh Court of J&K dated 11.12.2015, the dutyallowance/honorarium of the Home Guard Volunteers has beenenhanced from Rs.60/-per day to Rs.300/- per day for trainingperiod of two months and call up duty of three months, videGovernment Order No. 586-Home of 2018 dated 26.04.2018, assuch, the demand of the Home Guard Volunteers stands alreadyconsidered;

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7) Whereas, MHA vide letter dated 21.04.1987 conveyed itsdecision to reactivate Home Guard Organization in Jammu andKashmir w.eJ. 1989 and in terms of the guidelines laid down in theaforementioned letter of MHA, the Central Financial Assistance tothe extent of 100% on call out of Home Guards is restricted to twomonths expenditure on training per year and for another threemonths of duty, the expenditure is to be shared by the Central andState Government in the ratio of 80:20. Thus, in terms of theScheme of the MHA, the Volunteer Home Guards are paid dutyallowance for two months training and three months call up duty.As such, the State Government is not solely authorised to increasethe number of days of call up duty in respect of the Home GuardVolunteers, as this is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

8) Whereas, in respect of the demand of the Home GuardVolunteers for giving preference to them in enrolment/recruitmentas Constables in SDRF, it is noted that in the Advertisement Noticeissued by the Commandant General HG/CD/SDRFvide No. PERS-A-AUX-Police-03-II/40355-747 dated 24.08.2012, for recruitment ofConstables in SDRF Battalions, Home Guard Volunteers who havecrossed the age limit of 28 years but are within 37 years of age andhave completed five years of engagement are eligible to apply forthe post of Constable to the extent of 4 % of available vacancies ofHome Guard Volunteers category within following additionalbenefits to such Home Guard Volunteers in the recruitment:-

i) For five years of service = 01 Marks.ii) For above five years of service = 01 (additional

marks for each year(maximum 06 Marks)

9) Whereas, in view of aforementioned Advertisement Notice,4% vacancies in the SDRF have been reserved for recruitment ofHome Guard Volunteers, who fulfil the eligibility and are givenweightage for the number of years of service with relaxation inupper age limit from 28 to 37 years. Besides, vide GovernmentOrder No. 3752 of 2008 dated 23.12.2008, weightage is also givento the service rendered by the Home Guards for recruitment ofPoliceConstables as under:-

i) For five years of service = 01 Marks.ii) For above five years of service = 01 (additional

marks for each year(maximum 06 Marks)

10) Now, therefore, in due deference to the interim order dated06.06.2018 passed by the Hon'ble High Court at Jammu in IA No.01/2018, SWP No. 120/2018 titled Swaran Singh and others vs.

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., rt:lt:rrt:u LU In para o or trus order, tor payment of wages to HomeGuard volunteers commensurating to the regular pay/ grade ofconstable in Police Department, duties for full 30 days throughoutthe year and preference for enrolment/recruitment as constable inSDRF having been considered, in light of the judgment dated02.12.2011 passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh inclubbed matters, lead case titled Home Guard Sainik Evam ParivarKalyan Sangh and others vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and another,Writ Petition No. 10000 of 2010 read with judgment dated11.03.2015 passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in clubbedmatters lead case, Civil Appeal No. 2759/2015 titled Grah RakshakHome Guards Welfare Association vs. State of H.P and others is, forthe aforesaid reasons, found devoid of merit and accordinglyrejected.

By Order of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sd/-(R.K Goyal) IAS

Principal Secretary to GovernmentHome Department

Dated: 01-2019No. Home/HGjCD&SDRFj08j2018Copyto the:-1.2.3.4.5.

6.7.8.9.10.

11.

Principal Secretary to Government, Finance Department.Principal Secretary to Hon'ble Governor.Director General of Police, J&K Jammu.Additional Director General of Police, Home Guards and Security, J&K Jammu.Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, General AdministrationDepartment.Director Information, J&K.Director Archives, Archaeology and Museums, J&K.General Manager, Government Ranbir Press Jammu.OSD to the Advisor (K) to Hon'ble Governor.Shri Raman Sharma, Deputy Advocate General, High Court of J&K, Jammu.He is requested to file compliance report in the Hon'ble High Court with acopy to this department.Private Secretary to Principal Secretary to the Government, HomeDepartment.I/C Website, Home Department.Government order/Stock file. t ~I'c=---:: .~ 'Uf'!)I-I,.

(Rashid Raina)~nder Secretary to the Government

Home Departmev5