City increases food, travel allowances for court witnesses

While an ordinary one litre of bottled drinking water costs Rs 15 or more, the AAP government has decided to pay Rs 50 as diet expenses to any prosecution witness who is detained till lunch or called to appear in the court only in the post-lunch session in the national capital. But if a witness is detained for post-lunch session, provided he or she had been called to appear in the court in the pre-lunch session, then the person will be entitled to a diet allowance of Rs100.

These rules have been framed by lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung in exercise of the powers conferred under the Code of Criminal Procedure to regulate the payment of expenses to the complainant and witnesses appearing for purpose of any enquiry, trial or other proceedings before a criminal court in the metropolitan area of Delhi.

Titled “The Delhi Criminal Courts (Payments of Expenses to Complainant and Witnesses) Rules, 2015,” the L-G has put the public witnesses of any class in Category A, government servants in B and experts of forensic science, doctors, engineers, architects and lawyers who are not in the service of the government in the C category.

Besides diet allowance, the witnesses of Category A would be paid Rs 285, an amount fixed under the minimum wages payable to a skilled worker as had been notified by the government in February 2011. However, Category C witnesses will be paid an allowance of Rs 500.

The outstation witnesses of Category A will be paid for A/C three-tier train ticket from the place of their residence to Delhi in addition to the subsequent autorickshaw charges notified by the government from the nearest railway station to the court complex. But if the witness travels by road, he would be paid for travel by state transport AC bus.

The Category B witnesses would be paid actual travel expenses from their office as per their entitlement under the rules governing their nature of service. Such persons would be required to produce a certificate from his or her competent authority on the nature of the travelling allowance they are entitled to. The witnesses of Category C will, however, be entitled to A/C two-tier train fare in addition to the subsequent taxi charges from the nearest railway station in Delhi to the concerned court complex.

While the A category witnesses will be paid Rs 750 per day for their overnight stay, those in the B category of gazetted officer rank will get Rs 1,500. Other gover-nment servants will be paid Rs 750 only. Category C witnesses will be paid Rs1,500.

The government also made it clear that the witnesses who appear in the court after their retirement in connection with the work undertaken by them while they were in government may be paid expenses in the same manner as if they were still in the government service.

In a notification, additional law secretary Vikrant Vaid said it should be the duty of the court that no complainant or witness was put to trouble or inconvenience over the payment of expenses which they are entitled to under the specified rules. “The court shall ensure payment vouchers are handed over to the witness in the court itself soon after their testimony is recorded, without any undue delay.”