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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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
