The Allahabad High Court has received a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea, contesting the Uttar Pradesh Government's August 2023 decision to modify the remuneration of incarcerated individuals.

In August of this year, the Government issued an order in response to serious concerns raised by a bench led by the then Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh.

The concerns pertained to the behavior of state authorities who had not revised the wages of prisoners as directed.

Advocates Aushim Luthra and Atharava Dixit, appointed as amicus curiae by the court in the wage revision case, have filed a plea challenging the Government's order. The order had increased the wages of skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled convicts from Rs. 40, 30, and 25 to Rs. 81, 60, and 50, respectively. They argue that the minimum wages set for prisoners are lower than the minimum wage mandated in the State.

The plea heavily relied on the UP Payment of Remuneration of Prisoners and Compensation to Victims Rules of 2005. According to these rules, 15% of the earnings made by prisoners were deducted and designated for deposit in bank accounts to be disbursed to victims. Allegations surfaced claiming that neither the designated amount was being distributed to the victims nor returned to the prisoners. An amendment application stated that over 100 crores remained unutilized in bank accounts established under the 2005 Rules.

The plea heavily relied on the UP Payment of Remuneration of Prisoners and Compensation to Victims Rules of 2005. According to these rules, 15% of the earnings made by prisoners were deducted and designated for deposit in bank accounts to be disbursed to victims. Allegations surfaced claiming that neither the designated amount was being distributed to the victims nor returned to the prisoners. An amendment application stated that over 100 crores remained unutilized in bank accounts established under the 2005 Rules.

The plea argued that the State has begun profiting from goods produced within prisons, which are subsequently sold in the open market. As a result, the State is benefiting from the revenue generated by these sales. Consequently, in these scenarios, a relationship akin to that of an employer and employee is established.

The petitioners highlighted that a related petition (Bandi Adhikar Andolan Bihar v. Union of India & Ors) is currently awaiting judgment in the Supreme Court on the same matter. They emphasized that various states have implemented diverse policies and wage revisions over time. However, these changes shouldn't disadvantage prisoners. As a remedy, they requested the annulment of the government order that revised prisoners' wages and urged the State to align the wage revisions with the guidelines stipulated in the Minimum Wages Act.