Bombay HC directs BMC to pay salaries to blind employees absent during Covid-19 pandemic

In a major relief to the blind employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday directed the civic body to compensate

In a major relief to the blind employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday directed the civic body to compensate employees by paying them salary arrears in two parts. The court held that the action of the BMC of not paying salaries to specially-abled employees for not attending work due to the pandemic was discriminatory and illegal. The BMC is to pay the employees the arrears in two parts – one before Diwali, and the second instalment after 45 days of paying the first instalment.

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The division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Girish Kulkarni, while passing its judgement in the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the National Association for the Blind (NAB) on behalf of around 250 blind employees of the civic corporation, held that the BMC was responsible for its employees and was bound to pay them salaries though they did not attend duty.

While arguing for NAB, advocate Uday Warunjikar had submitted that the Central and state government had issued a notice on March 27 and April 21, respectively, directing all government and local body authorities to exempt persons with disabilities from essential service duty during the pandemic. Warunjikar also submitted the April 28 memorandum issued by the ministry of social justice and empowerment which directed all PSUs to exempt persons with disabilities from essential services during the pandemic, and to treat their absence as special leave without loss of pay.

While pronouncing the judgement, the court held that the BMC’s act of not paying salary to blind employees was illegal and directed it to pay the salaries in two instalments.