Delhi HC orders release of five months' salary to DCW employees

As an interim order, Delhi High Court has ordered release of five months' salary to Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) employees.

Now, the salary of one month is pending.

Next date is listed on March 30.

Today, the case filed by the contractual staff of Delhi Commission for Women due to non-payment of wages since September 2016 was listed before the Delhi High Court of Delhi.

On the first date upon the request of the Commission, the Court had impleaded the Lieutenant Governor as a party and issued notices in this regard.

Subsequently, an affidavit was filed on behalf of the present Lieutenant Governor stating that the DCW does not have any mandate to run/implement programs as it is a recommendatory body, and questioned the autonomy and legality of the appointments.

The Commission filed a counter affidavit stating that the submissions of the Lieutenant Governor are factually incorrect for the programs of the Commission i.e. Rape Crisis Cell, Crisis Intervention Centres, 181 Women Helpline, Mobile Helpline, Mahila Panchayat, Acid Watch Cell, Anti-Human Trafficking Cell, Sahyogini etc. are a means of investigating and examining matters of violation of rights of women enshrined in the Constitution and other laws.

The implementing programme is a mandate of the Commission under Section 10 of the Act.

In fact, some programs have been functioning on express orders of the High Court and have been run by the Commission for several decades.

Every year, the proposals for the projects are sent to the government which then places the proposals before the Legislative Assembly and grants for the programmes are then appropriated.

The Commission submitted that closing down programmes of IT would amount to closing down and rendering it defunct.

The Commission's autonomy is defined in the DCW Act. Also, the present attack is launched against the Commission due to its exceptional work.

The court took an adverse view of the submissions of the Lieutenant Governor and asked his counsel to clarify if the Commission does not have the mandate to run programmes, should it be be closed down.

Subsequently, the Lieutenant Governor's counsel apprised the High Court that a Committee has been set up consisting of bureaucrats of the Delhi Government to look into the matter.

In the meanwhile, the court noting the immense difficulties being faced by the staff of the Commission (79 out of 94 of which earn less than Rs. 25,000) as well as the fact that work has been done by the staff, ordered release of five months salary of the staff.