Payment of Wages Act

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) employed workers who claimed wages for work performed on holidays declared under the Andhra Pradesh Factories and Establishments (National Festival and Other Holidays) Act, 1974. APSRTC contended that Section 11(1)(c) of that Act excluded it because it was an…

The Supreme Court examined whether a security guard allotted by the Maharashtra Private Security Guards Board to a principal employer becomes the employee of that employer, thereby stripping the Board of its power to recall, re‑allot or transfer the guard. The petitioners, trade unions, argued that the guard becomes a …

The Supreme Court examined whether the Hydel Upper Bari Doab Construction Project, undertaken by the Punjab Hydel Department, qualified as an "establishment" under Section 1(3)(b) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, and whether the retrenchment of its workers entitled them to gratuity. It held that the project fell w…

In 1973 a settlement was reached during conciliation between the management of Security Paper Mill and the SPM Employees Union covering incentive benefits for all workmen and non‑operative staff. The Government later reduced the incentive rates, a decision later held illegal, after which the management entered into a s…

The Supreme Court entertained a writ petition under Article 32 after a letter complained of bonded labour in stone quarries of Faridabad, Haryana. It appointed commissioners and investigators to examine the working conditions and the implementation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and related statutes.…

Surekha Domaji Bele, an Upper Division Clerk with over two decades of service at MSEDCL, was suspended in 2006 for alleged indiscipline and related misconduct. A domestic enquiry was held but later declared unfair, leading to a de novo adjudication before the Labour Court where misconduct was proved. The employer dismi…

The case concerned 85 workers who had resigned from the Cochin Port Thozhilali Union and sought a refund of amounts that the union, through its president‑treasurer G.S. Dhara Singh, had collected from the employer on their behalf for gratuity and accident benefit funds. The workers filed civil suits demanding an accoun…

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ petition alleging that numerous Bihar‑owned public sector undertakings had failed to pay salaries for years, leading to starvation deaths and suicides of employees and their families. The petition sought directions for payment of arrears and held the State of Bihar l…

The National Kamgar Union (appellant) challenged the closure of Kran Rader Pvt. Ltd.'s manufacturing unit, alleging that more than 100 workers were employed and that the employer failed to comply with Section 25-K of Chapter VB of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Industrial Court had held that 115 workers were em…

The Uttar Pradesh State Mineral Development Corporation decided to retrench about half of its workforce, prompting the employees' Samiti to file a writ petition under Article 226 seeking absorption in other government departments or public sector undertakings and compensation. The Allahabad High Court entertained the p…

The petitioners were tenants of a commercial premises under a conducting agreement and were ordered by the High Court to vacate within a year, later receiving a four‑month extension. They filed an unconditional undertaking to vacate, but subsequently sought a review and a further five‑year extension, claiming the High …