Bengaluru airport’s CISF jawans seek legal aid for allowances

Source:- indiatoday.intoday.in

Looks like more and more Central Armed Police Force personnel are coming out in the open to question as well as demand their legal rights.

In Bengaluru, CISF jawans who guard the hypersensitive Kempegowda International Airport have now sought legal aid to get their transport and house rent allowances.

Instead of uploading videos onto YouTube, they decided to take the legal route by approaching an advocate to fight their case in the Karnataka High Court.

THE COMPLAINTS OF THE JAWANS

Vasanth Adithya of Kreetam Law Associates tells India Today that around 200 CISF jawans are unhappy regarding their working conditions, food, allowances and alleged harassment by seniors.

It is also alleged that these personnel work 8-10 hours daily sometimes without even a break.

Their counterparts stationed at the Mumbai and Hyderabad International Airports get transport allowances but unlike them, the jawans at the KIA do not get these allowances.

The Hyderabad HC had in 2015 passed an order stating that the petitioners should get their transport allowance and based on that case, the advocate has filed a similar case in the Karnataka HC. ‘We have collectively got a write up from each of these jawans saying they face a similar problem roughly around 200 have come for legal aid to us,’ the advocate tells India Today.

EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE FILING OF THE CASE

This issue came to the fore after a couple of RTIs were filed.  Thereafter, a few of the jawans also wrote to the PMO.

This matter was then referred to the Welfare department to look into. ‘They have just one bus to drop them to the airport and back to the barracks. If they need anything else, they have to travel almost 5kms and for this depend on their personal transport,’ he added the reason why they want their transport allowances which is legally due to them.

The issue was first referred to the Unit Commandant and then to the Director General, South Zone, Knowing well that they cannot approach the court directly.

The matter was then sent to the Director General, CISF in Delhi. A letter was also written seeking permission to approach the HC and this was acknowledged by the HC and it admitted the case.

The Karnataka HC has now sought a response from the respondents in a week’s time.