In a major relief to the blind employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the High Court of Bombay on Wednesday directed the civic body to compensate employees by paying them salary arrears in 2 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 & illegal. The BMC is to pay the employees the arrears in 2 parts – one before Diwali, & the second instalment after 45 days of paying the first instalment.

The division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta & Justice Girish Kulkarni, while passing its judgement in the 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 & was bound to pay them salaries though they didn't attend duty.

While arguing for NAB, Lawyer Uday Warunjikar had submitted that the Central & State Govt had issued a notice on March 27 & April 21, respectively, directing all Govt & 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 & empowerment which directed all PSUs to exempt persons with disabilities from essential services during the pandemic, & to treat their absence as special leave without loss of pay.

Warunjikar further cited the example of a blind employee of the BMC who didn't receive any salary in July & said that he was just one of 250 others who were marked absent by the civic authority & refused salary. Warunjikar had sought the Court's interference by declaring the BMC’s act of non-payment of salaries to blind employees as arbitrary & also issue directions to the BMC to implement the provisions of the Persons with Disability Act, 2016. He asked that the civic body treat the absence from duty as simpliciter leave, wherein there is no financial loss to the employees.

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

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