The Supreme Court of India recently stayed the operation of a home ministry circular asking private employers to pay full wages to workers amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The court also asked the state and central governments not to prosecute any private firm or factory over non-payment of wages. The central government has sought time to reply.
The order comes two weeks after the Supreme Court had granted time to the central government to respond to the pleas challenging its decision.The Supreme Court of India recently stayed the operation of a home ministry circular asking private employers to pay full wages to workers amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The court also asked the state and central governments not to prosecute any private firm or factory over non-payment of wages. The central government has sought time to reply.#
A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai, in a hearing conducted through video conferencing, heard the counsel for three private firms, including textile firm Nagreeka Exports Limited and Ficus Pax Private Ltd, against home ministry notifications asking them to pay full wages to employees during the lockdown.
Nagreeka Exports Limited has sought quashing of the government order asking employers to pay full salary to staff, contract workers, casual workers and other workers during the lockdown when factories are not operational, according to Indian media reports.
The textile company said that with the lockdown now being extended, its losses will be multiplied and if it has to follow the government orders in their entirety, its business will become unsustainable.
The plea states that the government order passed by the home ministry and another one by the Maharashtra government later are ‘illegal, unconstitutional’ and violate Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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