States have money to give freebies but not to retired judges: Supreme Court
New Delhi (PTI): States have enough money to give freebies to people who do no work but they claim financial constraints when it comes to paying salary and pension to judges of the district judiciary, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih made the oral observation after Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted that the government has to consider financial constraints when deciding the pay and retirement benefits of judicial officers.
"The state's have all the money for the people who don't do any work. Come elections, you declare ladli behna and other new schemes where you pay fixed amounts. In Delhi, we have announcements now from some party or the other saying they will pay Rs 2500 if they come to power," the bench remarked.
Venkataramani submitted that genuine concerns of financial burdens must be taken into account.
The observation was made while the apex court was hearing a plea filed in 2015 by the All India Judges Association regarding pension to retired judges.
The top court had earlier said it was "pitiable" that some retired high court judges were getting a pension ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
