High Court Finds Delhi Govt’s Chief And Labour Secretaries Guilty Of Contempt Of Court Over Failure To Enhance Minimum Wages Of Bus Staffers

The Delhi High Court has found the Delhi Government’s Chief Secretary, Secretary of Labour and Special Commissioner of Transport guilty of contempt of court for wilfully disobeying a judicial order passed in 2017 directing them to enhance the minimum wages of staff for the operation and maintenance of buses plying in the national capital.

Justice Rekha Palli said that the officials were “deliberately attempting to circumvent and undermine the unambiguous directions” issued by a division bench Bench on December 06, 2017, directing them to enhance the minimum wages by amending the formula envisaged in the Concessionaire Agreement entered into by the Delhi Government with various private stage carriage services providers.

“While exercising contempt jurisdiction this Court has to keep in mind that the very purpose of the law of contempt is meant to serve public interest and build confidence in the judicial process. In the present case, the respondents, despite having repeatedly failed in their challenge to the order passed by the Division Bench are deliberately attempting to circumvent and undermine the unambiguous directions issued by the Division Bench. It is therefore necessary to deal with the respondents with a heavy hand,” the court said.

The court was hearing three pleas moved by various concessionaires seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the officials for wilful disobedience of the directions passed by the division bench.

As per the Concessionaire Agreement, the petitioner concessionaires were required to provide the services of drivers and other staff for buses plying in various clusters. The agreement also contained a stipulation for amendment of the formula for payment of service rate per hour to the concessionaire in case of any “change in law”.

Before the division bench, the petitioners sought amendment of the formula after the minimum wages were enhanced by the government vide notifications dated 15.09.2016 and 03.11.2017.

It was their case that the quantification of the amount on which they had submitted their tenders was premised on a particular minimum wage payable to their employees. It was submitted that once there was an upward revision, it was incumbent on the government to make additional payments to increase the cost of providing stage carriage services on account of the enhancement of the minimum wages.

Against the division bench order, the respondent officials approached the Supreme Court wherein their SLP was dismissed as withdrawn on July 05, 2018 with a liberty to prefer a revision before the High Court. After the officials’ revision was rejected by the division bench, the Delhi Government’s SLP was also dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Holding the officials guilty of contempt of court, Justice Palli said that the directions of the division bench were crystal clear and the respondent officials were expected to effectuate necessary amendments to the formula by working out the amount payable to each cluster individually.

“…I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the Division Bench had, in no uncertain terms, directed the respondents to amend the formula for calculating the amount payable to the concessionaires by taking into account the incremental increase of each cluster separately. I am of the considered view that the directions to the respondents were to calculate the amount payable to the concessionaires of the different clusters by taking into account the factual matrix of each cluster separately and it is only for this purpose that the Division Bench had directed the petitioners to furnish their calculations to them,” the court said.

It observed that all the pre-conditions for holding the officials guilty of contempt were made out and rejected their defense that there was no requirement to work out the incremental increase separately for each cluster as being “wholly misconceived.”

The matter is now listed for arguments on sentence on July 14 when the contemnors are directed to remain present in the court.

Case Title: ANTONY RAOD TRANSPORT SOULUTION PVT LTD v. VARSHA JOSHI & ORS and other connected matters

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 335

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