Petition filed in HC against Govt's salary challenge

Kochi: Kerala NGO Sangh has approached the Kerala High Court challenging the alleged compulsion of state government employees to contribute one month's salary to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for flood relief.

The petition was filed by the organisation's president Sunilkumar P and Jayakumar SK and demanded that the government's order must be quashed.

An order allegedly issued by the state government on September 11 has been challenged by the petitioners. It is alleged that the guidelines, for making the donation of one month's salary as 10 installments, is compulsory in nature and can otherwise be called extortion.

Government servants have not been given an option to choose a convenient method to give contributions within their limits, the petition said.

'Government has no authority to take away pay from their pockets. The action of the government to recover one month salary without their without their consent is equal to extortion. The government employees are ready to pay if the order contains to pay contribution to their limit', the petition filed through advocate SRK Prathap stated.

Further, the petitioners contend that the government order infringes the fundamental rights of government servants. The government should be asked to issue an order granting liberty to government servants to choose an amount within their limits.

The petition may come up for admission hearing on Wednesday.