IREC Rule No.1670: Traveling Allowance For journeys To Give Evidence Other Than Those Described In Rule 1663

1670. Traveling Allowance For journeys To Give Evidence Other Than Those Described In Rule 1663:-

A railway servant summoned to give evidence in circumstances other than those described in Rule 1663 or to serve as assessor or juror in a court of law, is not entitled, by reason of his position as a Government servant, to any payment other than those admissible by the rules of the court. If the court pays him any sum as subsistence allowance or compensation apart from payment for traveling expenses, he must credit that sum to railway revenues before drawing full pay for the day or days of absence.

Note: This period spent by railway servant in attending court as juror and assessor with the permission of their respective Heads of Department, should be treated as special casual leave, which should not be debited to their casual leave accounts and no extra payment, except those admissible under these rules, should be made to them for such period.

Government of India’s Orders: 

The question has arisen whether an employee who is subject to the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 can legally pay to the department fees or sums received by him from court as subsistence allowance or compensation.  Such payment will amount to a deduction from wages within the meaning of the explanation to sub-section (i) to Section 7 of the payment of Wages Act, 1936 and is thus inadmissible under the provision to that Section. The employee, therefore, cannot legally be asked to credit to railway the subsistence allowance granted to him by the court. This difficulty can be solved by the issue of rules by the High Court to the effect that in the case of Government servant who are subject to the payment of Wages Act, 1936, such sums should be deposited by the court themselves in the treasury to the credit of the railway or office concerned.