High Court orders government to release Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi

On April 3, 2024, Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered the state government to release the withheld honorarium of democracy guards. The High Court termed the government's decision to stop the honorarium wrong.

What did the High Court say in the decision?

• Judge Sandeep Sharma, accepting the petition of Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Senani Sangh, ordered the release of honorarium to the members of the Sangh.

12 to 20 thousand rupees per month is given as honorarium:

• The court made it clear that as long as the law related to the Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi is in force, the government cannot stop this amount.
• Himachal Pradesh government has withheld the honorarium of democracy fighters from February 2023. Under this, about 80 people are given 12 to 20 thousand rupees every month.

Background of Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi Scheme:

• The former BJP government had made the Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi Scheme in 2019.
• To give legal recognition to the scheme, Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Act was passed in 2021.
• Its objective is to provide Samman Rashi to the people (democracy guards) who were lodged in jails or police stations during the emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government.
• Emergency was declared in the country by the Indira Gandhi government. During the Emergency, between 25 June 1975 and 21 March 1977, all the people of the state were imprisoned for political reasons. He is to be given an honorarium under the ‘Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi’ scheme.

The scheme was implemented in 2021:

• This ‘Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi’ scheme was implemented on 6 May 2021. After this, this amount started being given to the eligible persons.
• The members of the applicant association were receiving this amount till February 2023. But its availability stopped from March 2023.
• On finding out the reason for this, he was told that in the cabinet meeting on March 3, 2023, it had been decided to bring a bill to repeal the law related to honorarium.
• The bill to repeal the law was passed in the Assembly and sent to the Governor for approval. The applicant association said that the Governor has not yet approved the bill to repeal the law.

Himachal Pradesh High Court issued orders:

• The court agreed with the arguments of the applicant association and said that unless a passed bill gets the assent of the President or the Governor, it does not take the form of law.
• As long as a law remains in effect, the benefits given under it cannot be stopped. The court ordered that the honorarium should continue to be paid to the union members until the law is repealed.
• In the year 2019, the former BJP government had made Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi. In this context, an Act was passed in the year 2021.
• The law came into effect from May 6, 2021, and the members of the applicant association continued to receive funds till February 2023.