A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court, questioning the validity of the Union Home Ministry's order of March 29 for full payment of salary to all private companies employees during the period of lockdown.
It contended that the order was manifestly arbitrary, unconstitutional and violative of right to equality and freedom to carry out business guaranteed under the Constitution.
The petitioner 'Ludhiana Hand Tools Association' is aggrieved with the MHA's direction which stated: "All the employers, be it in the industry or in the shops and commercial establishments, shall make payment of wages of their workers, at their workplaces, on the due date, without any deduction, for the period their establishments are under closure during lockdown period."
It raised a legal question if the Disaster Management Act, 2005, empowered the Union Government to direct private establishments to pay full wages, when the Industrial Disputes Act, 1948, provided for payment of 50% wages under similar circumstances.
It further maintained that directing private establishments to pay full salaries to their workforce against no work was akin to taking away their property, granted as a constitutional right.
Among other grounds, the petition filed by advocate Rajeev M Roy said the Union government completely erred in directing the private establishments to pay full wages, instead of using hundreds of crores of unclaimed provident fund and Employees State Insurance Corporation contribution.
Earlier, Mumbai-based Nagreeka Exports Limited challenged the validity of the order for full payment of salary to employees, saying it was violative of fundamental rights, besides being "illegal, unethical, improper and illegitimate".
It had contended the National Disaster Management Authority and National Executive Committee constituted under the National Disaster Management Act did have no power to direct the employers to make payment to their workers, without any deduction, during the period of lockdown.