After increasing four-time fee to Delhi Government counsel in the High Court, the AAP Government has now decided to pay Rs 50 as food expenses to any prosecution witness who overstay till lunch or called to appear in the court only in the post lunch session in the National Capital.
If a witness overstays for post lunch session provided s/he had been called to appear in the court in the pre-lunch session, then person will be entitled for a diet allowance of Rs 100.
The Government has divided witnesses into A, B and C category. Besides food 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. But the 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 fare from the place of their residence to Delhi in addition to the subsequent auto-rickshaw charges notified by the Government from the nearest railway station to the concerned court complex. But if the witness travels by road, he would be paid for the state transport AC bus.
The category B witnesses would be paid actual travel expenses from the place of their office as per their entitlement under the rules governing their nature of service. But such persons would be required to produce a certificate from his or her competent authority on the nature of the traveling allowance they are entitled to. The witnesses of category C will, however, be entitled to A/C two-tier fare in addition to the subsequent taxi charges from the nearest railway station in Delhi to the concerned court complex.
While A category witnesses will be paid Rs 750 per day for ttheir overnight stay, those in B category of gazetted officer rank will get Rs 1,500. Other Government servants will be paid Rs 750 only. But Category C witnesses will be paid Rs 1,500. 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.
The Bill “The Delhi Criminal Courts (Payments of Expenses to Complainant and Witnesses) Rules, 2015,” the Government has put the public witnesses of any class in category A , Government servants in B and experts of forensic science, doctors, engineers, architects, lawyers who are not in the service of Government in the C category.
These rules have been framed by the Delhi Government in exercise of the powers conferred under the Code of Criminal Procedure to regulate the payment of expenses paid to complainant and witnesses appearing, for purpose of any enquiry, trial or other proceedings before a criminal court in the Metropolitan area of Delhi.
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 that payment vouchers are handed over to the witness in the court itself soon after their testimony is recorded, without any undue delay.”