Coming to the aid of 62 Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) employees, including acid attack victims, who were not paid salary since September this year, the Delhi High Court today directed the authority to disburse 50 per cent of the workers' arrears.
"So long as they are working, how can you withhold their salary? Do you want the cells to stop working? Shall I record that? If 10 months salary has been paid, then heavens will not fall if another month's salary is paid," Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said and initially ordered release of one month's salary.
Later when the Delhi government standing counsel Rahul Mehra said nothing will happen if salaries since September 1 are paid, the court directed that 50 per cent arrears, of the four months, of the employees be paid.
The court said the employees shall file, in two days, their affidavits and indemnity that the money being released was subject to final orders of the court and thereafter, DCW shall disburse the amounts in another two working days.
The judge said it was passing the order as the employees were engaged by DCW to work in various cells for women set up on orders of the court and while the Lieutenant Governor (LG) had claimed the appointments were illegal, the workers were functioning.
He, however, made it clear that the LG-Delhi government dispute over appointment of DCW's member secretary shall not come in the way of disbursement of the arrears.
The order came on the 62 employees' plea, filed through advocate Amita Singh Kalkal, seeking directions to DCW to disburse their salary which has not been paid since September.
According to DCW and its Chairperson Swati Maliwal, represented by advocate Rajshekhar Rao, the cells in which the affected employees were working included the Rape Crisis Cell, Crisis Intervention Centre, Acid Watch and Rehabilitation Cell, Anti-trafficking and Rehabilitation Cell, Mahila Panchayats and Sahayogini programme.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain and central government standing counsel Anurag Ahluwalia, who appeared for the LG, said that prima facie investigation by Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and other authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), revealed that the appointments of the employees were not done as per the law.
During the hearing, ASG Jain told the court that the LG
had agreed to release ex-gratia of Rs 20,000 each to five DCW employees -- three acid attack victims and two orphans.
He also alleged that there was mismanagement in DCW and a racket was being run there and said he has a CAG report to prove it.
Reacting to the ASG's argument, Maliwal said that the commission was doing good work for the first time and has spent only Rs 3.5 crore this year, despite which it was being attacked and was audited thrice this year.
She questioned why the municipal corporations were not being audited as frequently and further claimed that the LG had not held a single meeting with them in last one year on women safety despite the commission's request.
She said the employees were engaged as DCW was facing severe manpower shortage and the government had not met its staff requirements.
Rao, appearing for DCW, said that the commission has handled four times more work than previously done and said let the government prove that no work has been done by it.
ASG Jain, however, said that DCW cannot make appointments on its own if manpower was not provided by the government.
The petitioners have claimed that with their help DCW has dealt with 11,696 complaints since July 2015 and in view of the credible work being done by the commission with their help, the Delhi government transferred 181 helpline programme to them.
They have claimed that non-disbursement of their salaries was a violation of constitutional provisions.
